Santos Reiterates Claims of Being ‘Jew-ish,’ Hopes to Prove Grandparents Fled Holocaust

By:  Benyamin Davidsons

Long Island Rep. George Santos is reiterating and standing by his claims that he is “Jew-ish”.

As reported by the NY Post, the congressman infamous for lies he fabricated when seeking election, doubled down on his claims of being Jewish.  He said Sunday that he consulted with a genealogist to prove his grandparents actually did flee the Holocaust.

Santos won a narrow victory in New York’s competitive 3rd District last November. Since he took office in January, however, the 35-year-old Republican has been embattled for having fabricated large parts of his resume including his education and background– and has admitted to doing so.  Santos has also been charged with over 10 campaign finance fraud charges and faces a maximum sentence of 22 years in prison if convicted. In a CNN interview Sunday, he revealed that he has spent the past 10 months evaluating his DNA and working with a genealogist to prove his claims about being Jewish.

“That’s something I’m gonna … prove before I die,” Santos told CNN’s Manu Raju on “Inside Politics” segment that aired Sunday.  Still, Santos had to admit that he has yet to acquire the documentation to back his claim.  “Unfortunately Ukraine is in the middle of freaking war and my grandfather comes from Ukraine,” he said.  “I am working on finishing getting the last pieces of it,” he continued about proof his family fled the Holocaust. “Specifically the piece … where they go to Brazil and then have documents forged”.   He added, “Once I have everything ready, I will allow the same company hired to submit the report to the press with glee.”

Santos stressed that he’s still Catholic but comes from a Jewish family– despite the lack of documentation to prove it.  “I never said I was Jewish,” he insisted. “I would always joke for years saying was ‘Jew-ish.’ I was raised Roman Catholic…everybody thought it was funny.”

During Sunday’s CNN interview, he was asked about accusations that he fixed the books to make his campaign’s finances look better so he could qualify for matched funding from GOP resources.  “I’ve never, ever submitted or even looked at a single report,” Santos said. “As far as all the allegations, remember how a campaign works. I’m a candidate, candidates do not handle money.”  Federal prosecutors in the case point to email and text messages they believe shows guilt. They also got a guilty plea from Santos’ former campaign Treasurer Nancy Marks last month.  “I would love to see them,” Santos retorted when questioned about the communications. “It’s really easy to take things out of context.”

During the interview, Santos also revealed that he was inspired to run for office by progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).  “AOC was my inspiration. Most people don’t know that,” said Santos. “I always felt like you needed to be a Kennedy or Bush or Clinton to be in politics.” He continues, “She’s a scrappy girl. She’s from where I’m from.  She proved that everybody can do this. No matter right or left.”

Per the Post, Santos is facing a 23-count indictment for alleged embezzlement and lying to Congress.  Asked by CNN interviewer what the past year has been like, Santos replied, “Hell in the most profound way.”  When asked about a potential plea deal, he replied, “Those conversations are yet to be had”.   Last week, five fellow freshman Republicans tried to expel Santos from the lower chamber, but were unsuccessful.  His colleagues had pointed to his flagrant lying in his biography during the election.

Still, he continued to profess his innocence and said he didn’t regret running for office. “Insecurity, stupidity, I don’t know,” he replied when asked why he lied. “Look, I’m human we make mistakes. I’ve apologized and I will continue to apologize profusely for this with remorse.”  He continued saying he could still make a good congressman. “Nobody elected me because I play volleyball or not. Nobody elected me because I graduated college or not. People elected me because I said I’d come here to fight the swamp,” Santos stressed.