Embattled GOP Rep. Santos may have lied to a judge in 2017 bail hearing for a friend: report

Embattled New York Republican Rep. George Santos appears to have lied to a judge about his background during the 2017 bail hearing of a "family friend," according to an audio recording of the proceedings Politico obtained.

The recording purportedly includes an exchange between Santos and King County Superior Court Judge Sean O’Donnell during which the judge asks him as to his background and connection to the defendant, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha. During the hearing, Santos appeared to use his full name of George Anthony Devolder Santos.

"So what do you do for work?" O'Donnell asks, prompting Santos to answer "I am an aspiring politician and I work for Goldman Sachs."

"You work for Goldman Sachs in New York?" O'Donnell clarified. "Yup," was Santos's reply.

Santos came under intense scrutiny following allegations that he lied about his personal and professional background while campaigning for Congress during the 2022 midterms. The Trelha case was five years prior to that election.

Among those claims was an assertion that he previously worked for both Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, which he has since admitted to be false. Santos has since claimed he worked for a third firm, LinkBridge, that he says did business with both groups.

Trelha was ultimately deported in 2018 and has since asserted that Santos lied about the nature of their relationship as well, per Politico. According to Trelha, the pair met in 2016 through a Facebook group dedicated to Brazilians living in Orlando, Fla.

Santos has also made a bevy of other dubious claims, including that his parents fled Nazi Germany to escape the Holocaust, and has come under fire for allegedly performing drag shows in Brazil.

The New York Republican has adamantly resolved to serve out his term in Congress and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has resisted calls to demand his resignation.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.