Congressman-elect George Santos set to be sworn in Tuesday
NEW YORK -- Congressman-elect George Santos is expected to be sworn into office Tuesday as he's under scrutiny for a series of lies he's told.
The Long Island Republican has said he plans to take the oath of office when the new Congress begins in Washington.
Santos has admitted he lied about his heritage, education and work experience while running for office.
He's also now facing a new investigation from Brazil concerning years-old criminal charges. Authorities will bring back fraud charges against him connected to a case from 2008 involving a stolen checkbook.
Federal and state prosecutors have opened investigations into potentially criminal activity.
"He may have filed false forms and represented under oath that certain things were true that may or may not have been true," said David Birdsell, provost of Kean University.
Birdsell says Santos has a second vulnerability: a loan that he says he made to his campaign.
"The $700,000 loan, nobody knows where it came from, and if that turns out to be money from someone else represented as his own that could be a felony charge under election law and perhaps other statutes as well," he said.
But so far, Santos has done nothing that is known to be illegal.
The morning after voters swept the little-known 34-year-old into office, the Congressman-elect appeared to be the most popular person in the room.
"Just tells you that the quality of life that the people are seeking on Long Island is not what was being delivered," Santos said on Nov. 9.
What was Santos to deliver? Since that November day, the New York Times investigation uncovered large swaths of the Santos biography as fabricated and his campaign spending is under a swirling cloud of suspicion.
"This is an opportunity for all of us to watch a trainwreck in progress because while he may get seated and may vote for Kevin McCarthy for speaker, I don't think it will be long after that that he really runs into trouble," New York State Democratic Party Leader Jay Jacobs said.
"You can't trust him. You can't trust anything he says," one Long Island resident said.
"Liar is no good, nothing work," another Long Island resident said.
Watch Jennifer McLogan's report
CBS2's Jennifer McLogan first met him in 2020 as he attempted to unseat then-Congressman Tom Suozzi.
"Probably creating the biggest upset in the country against a very comfortable incumbent here on Long Island," Santos said at the time.
But Santos failed. Two years later, the GOP nominated him again.
"I figure he got caught doing what a lot of other politicians are doing," one Long Island resident said.
"There should be more due diligence before selecting these people," another said.
- Related Story: Constituents make it clear at rally they don't want Congressman-elect George Santos seated
"To be fair, everybody has egg on their face," Republican strategist and political consultant Michael Dawidziak said.
He says the media failed to dig deep, Republicans didn't vet properly and Democrats created the chaos over redistricting instead of solid opposition research.
"Pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered, and they got very 'hoggy,'" Dawidziak said.
Since the Times story, Santos admitted lying about having Jewish ancestry, working for Wall Street banks and obtaining a college degree.
Democrats are expected to lodge a potential complaint with the Federal Election Commission and introduce a resolution to expel Santos once he's a sitting member of Congress.
It's unlikely that the Republicans will have the appetite to remove a member of their own party given their narrow majority, but some GOP members are speaking out.
"This is troubling in so many ways. Certainly, he has lied repeatedly. He's certainly going to have to consider resigning," Republican Texas Rep. Kevin Brady said. "He can try to politically ride it out ... or he can take the tougher choice, which is own every lie that he's made, apologize to everyone and anyone."
Local lawmakers ask why Santos' net worth rose by millions, seemingly overnight.
"What is Mr. Santos' source of his newfound wealth?" Nassau County Legislator Joshua Lafazan said.
Rep. Ritchie Torres on Twitter announced he's introducing a bill "to require candidates to disclose under oath their employment, educational, & military history so we can punish candidates who lie to voters about their qualifications." He's calling it "the Stop Another Non-Truthful Office Seeker (SANTOS) ACT."
Our repeated emails, phone calls and texts to Santos went unanswered.
"I think it would really be the height of hubris to take the oath," Dawidziak said.
CBS2's political reporter Marcia Kramer will travel to Washington, D.C. for the swearing-in.
