Nearly 100 voters from embattled Rep.-elect George Santos’ (R-NY) district rallied outside of Nassau County courthouses in Mineola, Latest York, to call for his resignation. Santos is about to take office next week after admitting to lying about his resume to run for office.
Santos has called what he did “resume embellishment,” saying he went to colleges that he never attended, or worked at firms that don’t have any record of him. But to those on the rally it was his claim that he was Jewish and his grandparents were Holocaust survivors that was essentially the most egregious.
“We must always never must lie about who we’re, and to lie about being descendants of Holocaust survivors for the aim of political gain is beyond unacceptable,” said Rabbi Deborah Bravo, who leads the Makom Latest York community.
The protestors want investigations by local, state and federal prosecutors to proceed, they usually want the House Ethics Committee to become involved.
On Long Island, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly has opened an investigation into whether Santos defrauded Long Island voters. Individually, the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn is targeted on his financial dealings in connection to his campaign.
Donnelly, a Republican, said she’s going to investigate to see what crimes were committed after Santos, a Brazilian immigrant who won in Latest York’s third congressional district, admitted to lying about his education, work experience and real estate holdings.
“Nobody is above the law and if against the law was committed on this county, we’ll prosecute it,” she said in an announcement. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.
Latest York State Attorney General Letitia James’ office said it was also reviewing the matter.
In a bruising interview on Fox, Santos said he made a mistake.
“With the intention to move past this and move forward and be an efficient member of Congress, the truth is I remain committed to doing every little thing that I set forward in my campaign,” he said.
Still, Long Island Republican leaders, including Rep.-elect Nick LaLota (R-NY) and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, called for the House Ethics Committee to analyze Santos.
“Latest Yorkers deserve the reality, and House Republicans deserve a chance to control without this distraction,” said LaLota, who is an element of the freshman class to be seated when the brand new Congress takes office on Jan. 3.
Santos said he admits that parts of his resume were made up, but says he’ll take office next week. Santos said he’s a citizen, and that while he was once married to a lady, he’s “very much gay.”
“There’s an excellent warrant for arrest for George Santos in Brazil. It is a member of america Congress who has an open arrest warrant from one other country. It’s absolutely outrageous,” said Nassau County Legislator Joshua Lafazan, D-Woodbury. “If the facts are corroborated that George Santos did violate lots of these federal laws and commit crimes that he’s indicted on, our sincere hope is that our law enforcement officials do what they’ll to uncover the reality.”
Several of the allegations against Santos include: not working at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, nor attending Baruch College or Latest York University. His grandparents weren’t Holocaust victims, and there isn’t any evidence of him being Jewish.
“I never claimed to be Jewish,” Santos told The Post. “I’m Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I used to be ‘Jew-ish.’”
Linda Beigel Schulman joined the rally Thursday to sentence Santos for lying about being descended from Holocaust survivors, like her. She also blasted him for falsely claiming a few of his employees were killed at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub shooting in June 2016. Her son, Scott Beigel, a geography teacher and cross country coach, was killed within the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Florida.
“How dare you, George Santos?,” Beigel Schulman said. “How dare he try to attain political points or gain sympathy by lying.”
“I do know all too well and all too deep the sense of loss and grief about someone you’re keen on who was killed by gun violence. Unfortunately, being lied to by our political leaders has turn out to be commonplace and, even worse, accepted,” she continued.
Donnelly, the Nassau County district attorney, said in an announcement that Santos’s fabrications “are nothing wanting stunning.”
Nevertheless, it should be largely as much as Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who’s poised to be voted House speaker, to determine whether to analyze the ethics of a GOP freshman. McCarthy has yet to comment.
“We want answers from George Santos. He appears to be an entire and utter fraud. His whole life story was made up,” incoming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said last week on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Santos is an element of the narrow majority of Republicans that can flip control of the House next 12 months. In November, Santos beat Democrat Robert Zimmerman by 20,000 votes in a 54-to-45 margin.
Joseph Cairo, the longtime county Republican Party chairman, said in an announcement that while Santos “has broken the general public trust by making serious misstatements regarding his background,” he should still serve his term in Congress.
“George Santos, if his real name, doesn’t belong in Congress, because this moment will not be about Democratic Republican politics,” Zimmerman told the rally. “This moment is about protecting our democracy, standing up for justice, standing together in unity.”
Zimmerman and others blamed the media for being too busy following outgoing Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin’s campaign for governor to listen to Santos.
His falsehoods only got here to light last week after a report within the Latest York Times. The DCCC published a research document in July — typically used to assist smear their GOP opponent — with similar red flags.
Steve Israel, a congressman who served in Santos’ district from 2001 to 2017 and former chairman of the DCCC , acknowledged in The Atlantic that his successor Tom Suozzi “hadn’t bothered to do much” opposition research in 2020 because Santos was an entire unknown.
“Mr. Santos, his campaign wasn’t just dishonest. It was only a barrage of deceit on essentially the most fundamental questions. As to his fitness for office. I felt that I just needed to speak out. I just couldn’t be silent within the face of that,” Israel later told WSHU.
Israel said it is sort of inevitable that Santos will take office Tuesday. While Santos maintains he has broken no laws — just dishonest about his academic, employment and financial history — Democrats are calling on the Federal Election Commission to also investigate the source of a $700,000 loan that he gave his own campaign.
“What an irony that his first official act shall be taking an oath,” Israel said. “Having achieved his election by violating the basic oath that an elected official must have with constituents and lying throughout this process. At that time, Mr. Santos will confront some very serious legal and ethics problems within the House.”
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