NY Congressman-Elect George Santos Admits to Lying About Résumé

Congressman-elect George Santos, a Republican recently elected to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District, admitted to lying about key parts of his résumé — including false claims that he graduated from New York’s Baruch College and had worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. He still intends to serve his term in the House, which has not yet begun. 

For Context: The admissions, made in remarks to the New York Post (Lean Right bias) and local radio station WABC-AM (Not Rated), came after a December 19 article in The New York Times (Lean Left bias) which said his résumé “may be largely fiction.” Citigroup and Goldman Sachs reportedly told the Times that they had no record of Santos working at their firms, and Baruch College officials could find no record of Santos graduating the year he said he did. 

Key Quotes: “My sins here are embellishing my resume. I’m sorry,” Santos told the Post, adding that he wasn’t a “criminal” and that it was a “poor choice of words” to describe his employment at a company that did business with major financial firms as if he had worked directly with the firms. “We do stupid things in life,” the congressman-elect said. Meanwhile, some House Democrats were quick to call for Santos’ resignation or expulsion; Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) accused him of “defrauding” voters. 

How the Media Covered It: Coverage was widespread across the spectrum on Tuesday. Most coverage, including in right-rated outlets, said Santos “admitted” to “lying”; even the Post called Santos a “Liar” in a headline. Meanwhile, the Daily Beast (Left bias) accused Fox News (Right bias) — which later covered Santos’ admission — of “ignoring” the story following the Times article’s publication.