Protesters gathered in Mineola on New York’s Long Island on Thursday in opposition to George Santos, who recently won a Congressional race in portions of Long Island and New York City but is now facing evidence he lied regarding just about any element of his background one could imagine.
Santos and campaign biographies of his claimed he went to Baruch College and New York University and worked at financial firms including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs — which is all untrue. He previously characterized himself as a Jew and said grandparents of his survived the Holocaust, but no conclusive evidence has emerged they were even born in Europe. On financial disclosure forms filed with the House, he claimed he was making a $750,000 salary from a high-end finance company he supposedly led, but he originally provided no identifying details for any clients, while a July estimate of the company’s revenue from Dun & Bradstreet put the total under $50,000. Protesters in New York this week were pushing for Santos to resign — whatever form that would take, since he’s not yet seated — and the Congressional district to hold a special election.
“He falsified everything in order to get the votes. This isn’t a Democrat issue. This isn’t a Republican issue. This is an issue for the entirety of N.Y.-3 and, honestly, the entirety of New York and the country,” Julia Limmer, a participant in demonstrations, said. The protest was attended by hundreds. A report from Newsday, an outlet covering Long Island, put attendance at over 200, and a rabbi who joined the group also expressed concerns about contentions Santos made about his personal heritage. “To lie about being descendants of Holocaust survivors for the purpose of political gain is beyond unacceptable,” Rabbi Deborah Bravo said. “No one has the right to presume this ancestry for the purpose of political gain and empathy from constituents. This lie is simply beyond reproach.” Robert Zimmerman, the Democratic candidate Santos defeated this year, was also present. Check out some pictures below:
HAPPENING NOW: Voters & elected officials in NY-3 call on Congressman-elect #GeorgeSantos to step aside after lying about his life story on the campaign trail. There are still serious questions about Santos’ finances #ThePeoplesReporter@Santos4Congress @pix11news pic.twitter.com/M3dOu7G2u0
— Ayana Harry Dudley (@AyanaHarry) December 29, 2022
The Nassau County Republican Party also said — via a statement released by its current chairperson — it would not be supporting Santos in his bid for re-election if he decides to launch such a campaign for 2024. That won’t necessarily doom any campaign efforts he launches, considering candidates and officeholders have before broken with their local party apparatuses but remained prominent, but he is also facing investigations at the local, state, and federal level. The federal probe is by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and is reportedly looking at his finances. His personal coffers are relevant to compliance with federal law because he also loaned hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaign before the midterms.
