In two different interviews on Monday, Republican-elect George Santos of New York admitted to making some resume-related false statements. He asserted that he hasn’t broken any laws, though, and that he plans to run for office in Congress. Since there were inconsistencies, Santos’s career and educational background have come under close examination. For the first time, he discussed the subject with WABC radio and the New York Post, admitting that he had manufactured some goods.
“I am not a criminal. Not here, not abroad, in any jurisdiction in the world have I ever committed any crimes,” Santos told WABC radio host John Catsimatidis. “To get down to the nit and gritty, I’m not a fraud. I’m not a criminal who defrauded the entire country and made up this fictional character and ran for Congress. I’ve been around a long time. I mean, a lot of people know me. They know who I am. They’ve done business dealings with me,” he added.
“I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume”: Santos
When asked about his prior employment, Santos stated that he had never done direct work for Citigroup or Goldman Sachs. Nevertheless, he claims that he did work for financial institutions via his company. Saying he worked for them was a “bad choice of words,” he told the New York Post. In addition, he acknowledged that, despite his past statements to the contrary, he has never earned a degree from a college or institution, including Baruch College and New York University.
“I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume,” he told the Post. “We do stupid things in life,” he added. “I want to make sure that if I disappointed anyone by resume embellishment, I am sorry.” Issues with his college education and employment history in his resume were first pointed out by the New York Times last week.
According to a CNN article, family trees created by genealogy websites, records on Jewish refugees, and interviews with other genealogists all seem to refute Santos’ assertions that his ancestors survived the Holocaust. Santos stated to the Post, “I never claimed to be Jewish.” I’m a Catholic. I declared myself to be “Jew-ish” after learning that my mother’s family was Jewish.