Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene lashed out at former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard after Gabbard called out New York Republican Representative-elect George Santos over his "blatant lies" during a Fox News interview.
Gabbard—who earlier this year left the Democratic Party and has taken on a new role as a Fox News commentator—questioned whether Santos has any "shame" now that he's facing calls to resign after admitting to “embellishing” his résumé in response to an extensive investigation by The New York Times that exposed multiple lies he told about his life story.
The soon-to-be legislator—whose election on Long Island last month helped Republicans secure a slim majority in the House of Representatives—was recalcitrant during his interview with Gabbard, reiterated he "campaigned on delivering results for the American people," and would be "happy" to sit down with Gabbard and "settle the score" on a conversation that would otherwise go "way above the heads of the American people."
An undeterred Gabbard said Santos "outright lied" about working at the financial firms Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and about graduating from college, saying his behavior "calls into question how your constituents and the American people can believe anything that you may say when you are standing on the floor of the House of Representatives supposedly fighting for them."
But Gabbard's criticisms angered the partisan Greene, who in a tweet accused her of falling in line with "her former colleagues" who are giving Santos "zero grace" for his lies and fabrications.
You can see Greene's defense of Santos' blatant lying here:
Greene claimed Santos "has not even had the chance to take action for his district on the House floor" because has not been sworn in yet and said Gabbard should not "lecture" Santos when she has previously supported reproductive rights, pushed back against the National Rifle Association (NRA) and backed an agenda to address climate change.
Greene suggested Gabbard is still aligned with Democrats because she "says words that sound conservative" but doesn't "take action to back them up," adding:
"I am glad she, like George, realized she made mistakes and was wrong every time she voted to support killing the unborn, taking away our gun rights, and legislated to kill America’s energy independence and the fossil fuel industry."
She concluded that Republicans should give Santos "a chance and see how he legislates and votes, not treat him the same as the left is."
Gabbard's interview with Santos came in the wake of a Times exposé in which journalists Grace Ashford and Michael Gold reported that Santos "misrepresented a number of his career highlights" despite building his candidacy "on the notion that he was the 'full embodiment of the American dream' and was running to safeguard it for others."
A Times review of public documents and court filings from the United States and Brazil—where Santos, the son of Brazilian immigrants, spent some time—as well as "various attempts to verify claims" Santos made on the campaign trail, concluded that Santos had lied about everything from his education to his work history at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, and even his source of income.
For instance, Santos claims he graduated from Baruch College but neither the Times nor a separate investigation by NPR could confirm this and the school told the latter outlet that it could find no match for a George Santos in its database. And while Santos has described himself as a “seasoned Wall Street financier and investor,” neither Citigroup nor Goldman Sachs had records of him working at their firms.
Santos—who claims to have been gay all his life and did not reveal during his campaign that he had divorced a woman in 2019—even said in one interview that four of his employees died in the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, claims that did not hold up under scrutiny.
And where Santos gets his income is still a mystery even though he reported a $750,000 salary and dividends of over $1 million from his company, the Devolder Organization, which doesn't appear to exist.
Greene was called out for her remarks by social media users who suggested she is openly defending a known liar just so Republicans could maintain their slim majority in the House.
Last night, Long Island prosecutors confirmed they've opened an investigation into Santos for deceiving voters amid mounting questions about his fitness for federal office.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly, a Republican, called Santos' lies "nothing short of stunning," adding that "residents of Nassau County and other parts of the third district must have an honest and accountable representative in Congress."
Santos had earlier fessed up to at least some of his lies in an interview with The New York Post, telling the conservative tabloid he is “embarrassed” by his false and misleading statements but that he nonetheless believes he will be an “effective” House Republican once the new Congress is seated in January.
The House could decline to seat Santos, an action that would trigger a special election in a district that had previously favored Democrats, though Republicans are more likely to deny Santos committee assignments than expel him outright.
