
August 20, 2024
19,636
1,495
171
8.48%
Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
See what was published immediately before and after this episode.
4:17Now PlayingGeorge Santos pleads guilty toto wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a case that led to his expulsion from Congress. John Iadarola and Patti Vasquez break it down on The Damage Report.
Read more here:
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — George Santos, who spun lies about his life into an 11-month stint in Congress, pleaded guilty Monday to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a case that led to his expulsion from office. He blamed his ambition for clouding his judgment and said he was “flooded with deep regret.”
Santos, 36, is likely to spend at least six years in prison and owes more than $570,000 in restitution and forfeiture after tearfully admitting that he duped voters, deceived donors and stole the identities of 11 people, including his own family members, to make donations to his campaign.
Santos’ guilty plea in federal court on Long Island came weeks before the case was to go to trial, punctuating one of the more bizarre stories in modern political lore. He remains free on bond awaiting sentencing Feb. 7.
“I betrayed the trust of my constituents and supporters. I deeply regret my conduct,” the former New York representative said, his voice trembling as he entered the plea.
Santos was elected in 2022 after bandying stories — later proven false — about his wealth and background, including a lie that his mother perished in the 9/11 attacks. As his biography unraveled, Santos went to great lengths to defend himself, once saying he was “Jew-ish,” not Jewish, when confronted about his campaign claim that his grandparents had fled the Holocaust.
**
Be part of the Dragon Squad as a YouTube channel member
Follow The Damage Report on Facebook
Help build the Home of the Progressives
Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel
Follow The Damage Report on TikTok
Follow The Damage Report on Instagram
Follow The Damage Report on Twitter
#TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurks
240820__DR08Santos
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.