Disgraced congressman George Santos says he wasn’t trying to ‘trick people’ despite admitting he is a ‘terrible liar’.
Santos, 36, appeared on Piers Morgan, Uncensored, to defend himself after being branded a ‘serial liar.’
He admitted previously that he had ’embellished’ his resume during his successful 2022 House campaign – and his unsuccessful 2020 bid.
The Long Island Rep told Piers Morgan: ‘I’ve been a terrible liar on those subjects and what I try to convey to the American people is I made mistakes of allowing the pressure of what I thought needed to be done.
‘This wasn’t about tricking anybody. It wasn’t about tricking the people it was about getting accepted by the local party.
Santos, 36, appeared on Piers Morgan, Uncensored, to defend himself after being branded a ‘serial liar’
He admitted previously that he had ’embellished’ his resume during his successful 2022 House campaign
Morgan’s Uncensored show has plugged the interview as him challenging ‘one of America’s most controversial politicians, lie by lie.’
DailyMail.com have broken down the lies that Santos has previously told – and how he doubled down when quizzed by Morgan.
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Santos attended a prestigious New York prep school
Santos continued to say that he attended Horace Mann School – an elite private school in the Bronx where tuition costs $59,800 per year.
He has doubled down on the claims while on the TalkTV show, firmly denying any allegations he lied about attending the school.
Santos insisted that he attended the school for six months of 9th grade in 2004, despite the school saying that they have no record of him under any name.
The congressman attempted to deflect when asked why they had no record of him, claiming that they may have searched under the wrong name – something which the school say they have done.
He wrote in his 2019 biography during his campaign for Congress: ‘He began Horace Mann preparatory school in the Bronx, however, did not graduate from Horace Mann due to financial difficulties for his family.
‘He obtained a GED during his senior year.’
Morgan compared Santos to former President Donald Trump and former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in relation to telling lies
The congressman told Morgan: ‘I was there for six months of ninth grade in 2004. I attended for a brief period of time, then went back to the public school system and then dropped out.’
According to CNN, the school said that they had no record of him attending – which he said is not true.
‘We’ve searched the records and there is no evidence that George Santos (or any alias) attended Horace Mann,’ spokesperson for Horace Mann Prep School Ed Adler said.
However, Santos admitted that he didn’t get a master’s in business in New York which he previously claimed – and never graduated high school.
Santos added: ‘I didn’t get a masters in business, my resume was never furnished or supplied by me. I did not obtain a college education.
‘That remains one of my biggest regrets in life. I have made peace with the fact that I made a bad choice in making that decision. It wasn’t easy.’
When asked why he lied he said: ‘I just didn’t have that part of my biography and I couldn’t give anything. Societal pressure too.
‘I think it was a very stupid decision on my part, that I regret every day.’
CNN reported that the New York Republican never attended Horace Mann School (pictured), an elite private school in the Bronx
Santos gave an interview earlier this month claiming that he has ‘learned his lesson’ and that everything will be ‘above board’ from now on.
Claims he worked at both Goldman Sachs and Citigroup
Previously Santos said he used a ‘poor choice of words’ when describing his relationship with the two firms.
The congressman worked at a DISH Satellite call center from October 2011 to July 2012.
He also worked for LinkBridge, where, in an attempt to justify his lie, Santos said that he did business with Goldman and Citi and made ‘capital introductions’ between clients and investors.
Santos said he ‘never worked directly’ for either firm – something which he has now doubled down on speaking to Morgan.
He said:’I can defend my work career. I worked for subsidiary groups outside of those companies, I never worked for them as a direct employee.
‘I can argue that I have done very well in Wall Street – not working directly for Goldman or Citigroup. I never worked on their books, but I have done work for them through other companies.’
The congressman-elect said in a 2021 tweet that, ‘9/11 claimed my mother’s life,’ however Fatima Devolder died in 2016 of cancer and it’s unclear if it was 9/11-related. It’s also unclear if she was an executive or a housekeeper
Defends saying his mother was in one of the Twin Towers in 9/11 attacks
Santos wrote in a July 2021 tweet that he was ‘blocking’ an account with the handle ‘9/11 was a victimless crime’ because his mother was a victim of the terrorist attack.
He wrote, ‘9/11 claimed my mother’s life… so I’m blocking so I don’t ever have to read this again,’ after the user responded to a tweet from Santos regarding immigration.
An obituary for Santos’s mother, however, states that she died in December 2016, which is more than 15 years after the attack took place.
He also confirmed the real date in a December 2021 tweet where he said: ‘December 23rd this year marks 5 years I lost my best friend and mentor. Mom you will live forever in my heart.’
Santos’s campaign website said his mother ‘survived the tragic events of September 11th’ in the South Tower office of the World Trade Center and died ‘a few years later when she lost her battle to cancer.’
A New York Times report had described Santos’ mother as a ‘domestic worker’ or ‘housekeeper’ – while his campaign website described his mother as a top executive.
However, he defended the claims on the show, telling Morgan: ‘I won’t debate my mother’s life as she passed in 16, and I think it’s quite insensitive that people are questioning my mother’s legacy.
‘I was 13 years old in 2011, I was in the US, so my mother was here as she had full custody of both of her children.
‘I don’t know what she did regarding her visa, being a child I have no recollection of these events.
‘You are asking me things that I do not know. Are you telling me that I got wrong what my mother told me?
‘She wasn’t one to mislead me. I remain convinced that that is the truth.’
George Santos (right) poses with his then fiancé at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Eve
Stands by claims that he is of ‘Jew-ish’ heritage and his grandparents survived the Holocaust
During one interview, Santos said his family name on his mother’s side was the historically Jewish name ‘Zabrovsky.’
He claims that his grandfather was born in Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Uniton, and migrated to Belgium in 1940 or 41 when he met his grandmother.
Speaking to Fox Digital last year he said: ‘We don’t carry the Ukrainian last name, for a lot of people who are descendants of World War II refugees or survivors of the Holocaust, a lot of names or paperwork were changed in the name of survival.’
However reports indicate that there have been no successful efforts to find any Jewish or Ukrainian heritage at all in his family tree according to the Forward.
Santos said in a separate interview in 2020 that he was raised by ‘a white Caucasian mother, an immigrant from Belgium.
But Santos’ mother, Fatima Devolder, was born in Brazil, according to her obituary in 2016.
Speaking to Morgan he said that his heritage was an argument that he would ‘battle to his grave’.
He added: ‘I have already ordered those DNA test kits, I’ve done four of them and I am so far waiting for the returns which I am very curious to share those with everybody.
‘My grandparents fled from Belgium to Brazil, and faked a lot of documents. It has happened to other people, and they received apology letters. I will be the same story.’
However the congressman denied ever saying he was Jewish, telling the show that he was a Christian who was ‘Jew-ish’ a joke he claims he has made throughout his life.
He said: ‘I never claimed to be Jewish. It was a party favor joke. I say that my grandparents are Jewish on my mothers’ side, and I am Jew-ish.
‘There were thousands of people in a room at the RJC in November who all laughed at that joke.’
Public records, however, show that Santos was previously married to a woman named Uadla Vieira, a native of Brazil, until 2019
Santos was accused earlier in February of sexually harassing an aide by grabbing his crotch and asking if he was on Grindr.
He allegedly asked Derek Myers if he was on the dating app and explained that he had a profile.
The pair had been going through letters from constituents on January 25 when the allegations took place, according to the letter sent to the House Committee on Ethics on Friday.
Myers claims that Santos asked him to sit closer after they spoke about Grindr, and allegedly began touching his leg before inviting him to karaoke.
The aide said he declined the invitation, but Santos then moved his hand to his ‘groin area’ and assured him that his husband was out of town and invited him over.
It is the latest in a long line of allegations that Santos is facing, and is the subject of numerous probes into his business and campaign finances.
He is being investigated by the district attorney’s office in Nassau County, N.Y., which is where his congressional district issue. And authorities in Brazil are also seeking to revive a fraud case against him dating from 2008.
The interview comes after DailyMail.com revealed that Santos snubbed huge American network CNN and beleaguered host Don Lemon in favour of the UK’s TalkTV.
Sources told DailyMail.com that Santos had been scheduled to be interviewed by Don Lemon on the US-based show this Wednesday. The interview was scheduled before Lemon’s remarks.
But Santos’ reps notified CNN on Friday that they were canceling the appearance, blaming Lemon’s comments on This Morning the day before.
A rep for Santos told DailyMail.com: ‘We heard the comments and it was in very poor taste and we did not wish to do a sitdown with someone who could speak ill of women in that regard.
‘It shouldn’t matter if it’s a Republican or Democratic woman running for public office, but we’re not going to sit down with someone who would say such horrible things.
‘I don’t think he should be rewarded for bad behavior.’
It is unclear why Santos has plumped for Morgan instead, on his UK-based show from TalkTV.
DailyMail.com has reached out to CNN for a comment on the sudden cancellation of the interview.
