Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida on Thursday interviewed Representative George Santos, and during the talk, he defended the fellow Republican by saying not being completely honest on a resume “isn’t a crime.”
The interview occurred on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcastwhich Gaetz hosted while Bannon appeared at a court hearing for his alleged involvement in charity fraud regarding the construction of a barrier along the Mexico border. (Bannon has pleaded not guilty.) Gaetz spoke with House Republicans Andy Biggs of Arizona and Anna Paulina Luna of Florida in addition to Santos.
Santos, a freshman member of Congress representing parts of Long Island and Queens, has been embroiled in controversy over multiple falsehoods he’s accused of making about his professional and personal history. He is currently facing multiple ethical complaints and criminal investigationsand leaders of the Nassau County Republican Party on Wednesday called on him to immediately resign.
Santos has resisted calls to step down, and he reaffirmed that position to Gaetz.
“I came here to serve the people, not politicians and party leaders, and I’m going to do just that,” Santos said.
Santos continued, “And I’ve been doing just that throughout this entire first two weeks, whether it was voting for the speaker or whether it’s been the last week where we’ve been working on legislation in my office.
“So, you know, I wish well, all of their opinions, but I was elected by 142,000 people. Until those same 142,000 people tell me they don’t want me…We’ll find out in two years,” Santos said.
Gaetz responded by asking Santos what those 142,000 people who voted for him deserve in a representative.
“They deserve somebody who’s going to come here and fight and not get involved with the media nonsense that we’re seeing take place,” Santos said.
The Florida congressman then brought up how Santos admitted to embellishing his resume and apologizing for it. (Days after The New York Times published the first report on Santos’ alleged false statements, the newly-elected representative told The New York Post he had been guilty of “embellishing” his resume but fell short of owning up to all the lies he was accused of telling.)
“Some have said that you shouldn’t be seated on committees for it. I would offer that if we didn’t seat people on committees who embellish their resumes running for Congress, we probably wouldn’t be able to make a quorum in any of those committees,” Gaetz said.
After praising Santos for flipping a district that had traditionally voted Democratic, Gaetz then offered a fuller defense of Santos’ alleged mistruths.
“Embellishing one’s resume isn’t a crime. It’s frankly, how a lot of people get to Congress. And we want everyone to be honest,” Gaetz said.
Newsweek reached out to Santos’ office for comment.
