International man of mystery Rep. George Santos (R-NY) appears to have finally resolved one of his many, many legal headaches.
According to a legal petition obtained by CNN, the flagrant fabulist has reached a deal with prosecutors in Brazil pertaining to an accusation that he bought over $1,300 worth of clothes and shoes using a stolen checkbook.
In accordance with Brazilian law, Santos will formally confess his guilt and pay restitution to the Rio de Janeiro clerk he defrauded in 2008. Brazil permits this kind of reconciliation without trial for nonviolent crimes with minimum sentences of under four years.
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According to case notes obtained by CNN, Santos initially admitted to police in 2010 that he stole the checkbook from his mom’s nurse. But the case went cold for a decade after cops could no longer reach Santos; it was only revived this year when he emerged in the spotlight as a U.S. congressman.
The confession directly contradicts claims Santos made in an interview with the New York Post in December, in which he vehemently asserted his innocence of any crime in the U.S. or Brazil.
“I am not a criminal here—not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world. Absolutely not. That didn't happen,” Santos said at the time.
While this was obviously a lie, it didn’t stop Santos’ lawyer from justifying his request for the non-prosecutorial agreement by claiming that Santos has been “resocialized” and is now gainfully employed.
Beyond his claims about the Brazil case, Santos’ Jenga tower of falsehoods stretches the definition of the term “resocialized” to its very limits.
At various points since the checkbook incident, it has been revealed that Santos fabricated nearly his entire resume, falsely claimed his mother survived 9/11 (then later died from 9/11), told donors he produced the infamous Broadway flop Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, and stole from a charity for a disabled veteran’s dying service dog—among many other scandals, scams, and fabrications.
While Santos is currently gainfully employed as a congressman, he may not be for long.
Lawmakers from both parties have called for his resignation, with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) famously calling him a “sick puppy” to his face at Biden’s State of the Union address.
Santos is under investigation by the Republican-dominated House Ethics Committee for various campaign finance violations and a sexual misconduct allegation involving a former staffer. He is also being probed by county, state, and federal authorities over various other alleged lies.
