- Rep. George Santos told The New York Times that he upended his life to run for public office.
- But he said that he loved being a congressman and would repeat the experience if given the chance.
In January, Rep. George Santos stepped onto the House floor as arguably the most high-profile freshman congressman this year.
Shortly before taking office, a bombshell New York Times report detailed a number of discrepancies with Santos' education, previous places of employment, and his campaign's financial disclosures. The publicity catapulted him into the national political stratosphere.
Now, not even a year after assuming office, the New York Republican faces a slew of charges that could land him in prison for years.
In May, federal prosecutors charged Santos with 13 counts, including wire fraud, money laundering, and theft of public funds. A superseding indictment filed earlier this month added 10 additional charges, including aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, access device fraud, and the falsification of records. (He has pleaded not guilty to the earlier counts.)
Santos told New York Times reporter Grace Ashford — one of the co-authors of the initial December story that raised questions about his background — that he had basically upended his life running for public office.
"I literally threw my entire life into the toilet and flushed it to get elected," he told Ashford in a phone conversation, a breakthrough in itself as Santos had previously declined to speak with her.
Santos told Ashford that despite the tumult leading up to his election, he would still go through the experience again but would exercise caution with some of the aides and consultants whom he feels have wronged him. He then said that he was eager to fight the charges filed against him.
"People think that I'm just going to get steamrolled," he said. "No, I'm going to prove my innocence."
The congressman reiterated to Ashford that he would not resign from office, which he has been asked to do by most of the GOP establishment in his Nassau County-anchored House district. He remains unable to serve on any House committees but told Ashford that he loves representing his constituents.
"In office, I actually have a platform," he said. "I have a voice."