Days after disgraced former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was ousted from Congress by a bipartisan supermajority of lawmakers following a scathing ethics report and revelations that he fabricated most of his résumé, the alleged serial fraudster is eyeing a return to the People’s House.
After his unceremonious exit from the chamber on Dec. 1 he told reporters: “Why would I want to stay here? To hell with this place.”
That sentiment appears to have changed. On Tuesday Santos told Frank Morano in a radio interview, “I’m not done with public service. I want to go back to Congress.”
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“I’m not saying today. I’m not saying tomorrow,” Santos continued. “I have a lot of things I need to take care of first. I think we all know, but I do have hopes of trying to regain the trust of the American people and going there because I will continue to expose and root out the rot in our federal government.”
He does have some things to tend to in the meantime, namely federal criminal charges of fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy, and unauthorized political contributions.
And yet, as he nears a possible plea deal, Santos had nothing but praise for the Department of Justice investigators who have accused him of wrongdoing.
“The DOJ has been above board, beyond reproach, and professional throughout this entire matter,” Santos said on the The Other Side of Midnight radio show. “The ethics committee was a political assassination, a joke of a process.”
“I’m not asking for people to like me,” he continued. “I’m not asking for people to have sympathy. I just want people to see the facts, and those are the facts.”
Santos earlier this year pleaded not guilty to the charges laid out in the 23-count indictment.
