Former United States Representative George Santos has been shaking up the media for quite some time now. A member of the Republican Party and former representative for the third congressional district of New York, Santos was expelled from Congress on December 1 of last year for a variety of overlapping scandals. These incidents include, but are not limited to: defrauding campaign donors by using their monetary contributions for his own personal interests, exploiting unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, extensively lying about his personal history to the Federal Election Commission, and committing identity theft. Infamously, Santos is alleged to have spent campaign money on rather 'indulgent' pursuits such as trips to the casino, botox treatments, and OnlyFans payments. He currently faces 23 different charges brought on by the Department of Justice.
In the time since his removal from the House of Representatives, media coverage around Santos’ outlandish story has died down. However, he does not plan on giving up his life in politics and fading into obscurity. In an interview with British journalist and media personality Piers Morgan on January 10, Santos made clear that he is looking to restore his reputation. “Don’t count me out,” said Santos at the end of the 75-minute interview. “I’ve given many people a second chance and I’m asking everybody to please give me a second chance. And I will, you know, come forward and prove to be worth your second chance.”
Throughout the interview, Morgan tried exhaustively to get to the bottom of Santos’ motivations for all of the lying and deceit, but Santos was not forthcoming. “Can’t explain it, can’t explain it. Sorry Piers,” he insisted. Santos also denied the suggestion that his actions could be related to mental illness or to events in his childhood. While he did mention his parents, he only praised their honesty. “The fact that I needed to open my mouth and say anything that wasn’t true, she would have just beat me to a crisp,” the former congressman said of his late mother. “She would have pulled out a wooden stick. You don’t know that woman,” he said. Ultimately, Santos did not address the real reasons behind the masquerade that shaped his brief tenure as a member of the House.
Also in this interview, Santos defended himself by calling out other members of Congress for their alleged misconduct. He notably accused Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) of unethical behavior, though he never specified exactly what that meant. At the end of his appearance with Morgan, Santos teased a documentary about his life that he believes will back up his claim to being the descendant of a Holocaust survivor.
Although Santos has openly admitted to lying about various aspects of his background, he maintains that many of the allegations in the mounting prosecution against him are false. What the future holds for this deeply bizarre character is definitely up in the air, but it would be hard to feel surprised by any outcome.