Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
A US REPUBLICAN congressman-elect who admitted making up significant parts of his CV is under criminal investigation, US media has reported, citing prosecutors in New York.
George Santos’s victory in the Empire State helped his party secure a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, Congress’s lower chamber.
But a New York Times investigation cast doubt on key parts of his education and work history that he touted during the campaign.
Santos admitted on Monday to significant fabrications of his resume, confessing that he’d neither worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup nor graduated from college, despite his claims to the contrary.
“The numerous fabrications and inconsistencies associated with Congressman-Elect Santos are nothing short of stunning,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement carried by multiple major US media outlets.
“The residents of Nassau County and other parts of the third district must have an honest and accountable representative in Congress. No one is above the law and if a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute it.”
Santos has refused to give up his seat in Congress, telling the New York Post: “I’m not a criminal.”
He apologised for “embellishing my resume” but stretched credulity in defending his false claim that he was Jewish.
“I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish,’” he told the Post.
Santos, who beat Democrat Robert Zimmerman in a newly-drawn district straddling Queens and Long Island, was at the vanguard of a Republican “wave” in New York that powered the party to a 222-212 House majority.
The Times story raised questions over how he was able to lend his campaign $700,000 after claiming on a campaign finance filing in 2020 that he was making $55,000 a year.
Several Democrats have demanded that House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy call a vote to expel Santos if he does not quit.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Why is everyone so shocked have you all been blind over the years.
It’s not as if politicians in Ireland are living on minimum wages they are amongst the highest paid in the world, hardly a need to be corrupt.
Ff fg are a disgrace to the irish people shocking abuse of the law .they should be sacked and jailed immediately vote for change.
Does a chicken trust a fox!?
We did vote for change the last time. This is what we got.
Time and again tonight , we heard how the law was broken. Will all these politicians now be arrested for breaking the law. Or is it one rule for them. Will they eceive a knock on the door in the morning? Heck no. They all should. Oversights and a mistake should be no excuse.
There’s Ronan on CB now
I don’t think anyone is too shocked. Seeing it in action was shocking, cringe worthy
Bobby…unfortunately the corruption is not confined to those parties. It’s across the board. Irish politicians are mostly rotten. If those that are principled could only extricate themselves from their allegiances and form a genuine organisation that considered the people beyond when they were wondering what it is they are stepping on…there would be no stopping us.
They told lies dave have faith https://youtu.be/27UL3tZW1bk eventually we will get people who what to run the country fair and square vote right to change.
Look at the roomful of people clapping and supporting McElvaney at the end of the RTE show and see where the root problem lies. He gets a standing ovation for being crooked. It’s a very tribal country we live in and right and wrong are decided by what the local tribe wants in that area.
They would eat their own young
I wouldn’t trust a single one of them. There’s not an honest person among any of them.
I think you hit the nail on the head. Is it the corrupt politicians’ fault, or is it the people’s fault for tolerating the current system that corrupt politicians are attracted into? It’s the system that is broken (civil war politics, politician’s with no business/ethical education and private industry expertise). We’re getting the political system that we’re willing to tolerate through our collective tolerance to progressive change.
I trust Irish politicians …….. to do their very best for themselves at the expense of everybody else! So far I’ve not been disappointed.
Not surprised. Government would not even send someone on tonight. Why was that? They knew since last week but nonone would go on Claire Byrne. They love to spout about everything and anything, but because it was about corruption tonight. They didn’t send anyone. Tells its own story. Shocking but not surprising. Last week they went home from the dail early because they had no legislation to debate . push through emergency legislation on corruption immediately.
Honestly not surprised. This country is like an episode of the benny hill show.
If people were as cynical about journalists, the state of journalism, and the media itself we’d all be far better off.
Always important to recognise the elephant between the property ads.
I can somehow see this being the most conclusive poll the journal has ever put out
McElvaney looks like Healey -Rae with hair and gold … lots of gold!
Bling it on hi. I want loadsa money, ten grand sterling would be a good start, said the spider to the fly. Please tell me he really was taking the piss, ‘cos if not this is the most super viral sting in Irish politics. There are alternatives to the likes of this lad, if people would bother to get interested and vote. He’s like yer man from lotto ad years ago, “I’d build another car park, sure the town is cryin’ out for one”.
I trust them…..to be bent,greedy,shady,corrupt,shifty,mean,shameless,venal,sociopathic,dishonest,anti social, but otherwise they’re grand…
At least they’re white though Joachin,ay?
Absolutely and categorically no but trust me it’s very difficult to fight their corruption, they have politicians to back them, they really give a very bad name to any honest public figure in office. It’s strange the rest of us are forensically checked by Revenue and other departments, again I will say if we are all treated equally it could solve nearly all criminal activities.
It would take a full frontal lobotomy to restore my faith in Irish politicians.
Yours or a politicians???
I have as much faith in mainstream party politicians as I have in King Salman of Saudi Arabia attending Mass in my local church.
For a split second I thought you said “Only 210 people trust Irish politicians”. If fairness, it would have been more accurate :-).
Who’s the two?? Family members…
Enda and Joan? They have time to vote this evening – stayed away from RTE studios.
Do I f@ck!
I think young guys and girls come into politics with good intentions, but quickly realise that they have to play the game to succeed.. It really is a joke, getting freebies like nights out- to all Ireland tickets is standard, but as we can see it goes way beyond that
Somme shenanigans going on with the wind farm industry I’d imagine.
Tommy….from what I’ve heard the takings are enormous … For little risk…
Especially in this weather.
No. …but then I don’t trust many people anymore
Anyone know what the “darkie” reference was about? Is that his nickname or something?
Probably slang for the man in the shadows I’d say.
A term for a native?
Lorem..yeah!I heard/saw that! A gas man..loves the queens currency..
That struck me too – and in a border county, no less! That won’t be popular!
Easier to hide sterling, I suppose
Yeah I came to the same conclusion as Beachmaster. Anyone from Sligo can confirm? It was an odd one.
At least he walked. Not before leaving his hilarious defense though…
Darkie is a long standing reference to a black person…he basically said…what’s in it for the poor man.
Irish political gangsterism easily explained away on the programme as
“Oversight” on their behalf.All eyes on the law makers now.See if the land of no accountability lives up its reputation…
As long as voters leave their brains at home when they go to vote then the abuse of citizens will continue.
- Landlords who max your Rent
- Banks who max your Debt (societal and personal – just to get a roof over your head)
- Political Parties who max your Tax ( and pass laws to allow Revenue to take it from your pay and pensions)
I voted no.. ff/fg are corrupt and labour are sellouts. To many party independents spewing their local issues to grab a seat on the gravy train.
I hope to God more people have the sense to vote for left parties/ independents this time. We need to clear out this shower of muppets.
Did it escape your attention that the lad from Donegal is an independent? People there voted for him last year, thinking it would bring change, and instead all they got was the next generation of sleveen. What makes you think other independents or lefties would be immune from the same thing?
Well I at least would like to see a left government in power and then judge as opposed to voting in the same parties over and over again. Look where that has gotten us. Don’t mock it before you try it. There are a lot of good independent left candidates out there like Claire Daly and Mick Wallace who is doing a fine job exposing the corruption in nama/irbc.
Don’t make me laugh. Until Irish voters stop voting for the man who promises local pressies, nothing will change. We all knowingly support them. We don’t have the most minimal respect for civic duty. Only care that water keeps flowing from the parish pump. We are one of the most cynical electorates in Europe.
“What makes you think other independents or lefties would be immune from the same thing?”
We know for sure FF and FG are going to screw us, The left side haven’t been given a chance to prove themselves. I think it’s worth trying them for once.
Where are yfg tonight? Diarmuid? Thomas Mac?
Mostly fg and ff. Nobody from the left implicated.
Bunch of waaaaaaankers the lot of them
Fcuk No!
How could you, they promise the sun moon and stars, and then when they get power shaft everyone FG/ labour style.
Never ever trust someone who promises you the sun, moon and the stars, they are not theirs to give. Whilst every one in power is shocked, very few of the general public are.
Please don’t tar them all with the same brush the brush wouldn’t last that long.
no more political dinosaurs please.. these so called people put in a position of power by the local people and this is what the result is.. you should serve your term be it 4 years and be f’ed out of the system before they start getting to many ideas
Not anyone in FF, FG and LAB. No trust ZERO…. corrupt to the core. SF have their legacy issues too. We need some real patriotic parties with the national interest at their core. What is going on at the top levels, even bigger back handers for sure. Fraud Squad should be all over them like a rash and lock them up.
Brilliant timing,with an election getting closer by the day…love to see a poll done on FG/LAB in the next week…thanks RTE,Santa came early.
Ivor the engine was right when he said privately they’re all at it.
This corruption needs to be cleared out.vote R2C candidates in GE,and start a clean up of Irish politics. Ff,fg,labour will do nothing about it,its the only way they know how to govern.
In a just society tonight’s transgressors would be personally audited as the “Presumption of Honesty” by Revenue quite obviously does not apply.
Any accounts in UK banks should become of interest to the auditors, as would their financial history.
In the event that financial irregularities were detected then CAB should be called in and assets frozen until it could be shown that the subject had legally fulfilled his obligations to the exchequer and face the full rigours of the law with regard to fraudulent intent.
The above piece of fiction comes as a result of many years of prolonged observation of the decidedly self-serving nature of our public representatives and in the knowledge that we, the electorate, choose to perpetuate the practice through our apathetic acceptance of such activities as being the norm.
I trust the ones I vote for. Unfortunately they don’t get elected as they are Green Party candidates.
I trust the ones I vote for too. None of them.
The Green Party lmao. Do we have one…?
Oh wait. .where those politicians come from???oh yeah irish society…is that the best we can do ???
Yeah, about as far as I could chuck them!
That’s high
Like in all walks of life you can never trust a liar.
It’s time for change
This is exactly why I have no interest in politics. You can’t believe anything they tell you.
The only way to change Politics is get rid of party politics what you need is unity not spend the day scoring brownie points against each other everyday one party out after a few years and they switch sides and the argument continues silly and stupid .I can’t watch a political programme on tv anymore drives me bonkers as for that half fool Vincent Brown just breaks me up with the stuttering and stupid talk .
Well… No surprise there.
Politicians must be the biggest liars and corrupt people going,
They will shortly be all out looking for our votes and bullshitting us on the doorstep,
They must think were so stupid but we probably are re electing them
Trust has to be earned not bought or sold
have your say