Allegations against George Santos draw cautious response from GOP leaders

Nassau Republican chairman Joseph Cairo on Monday said GOP congressman-elect George Santos "deserves a reasonable amount of time" to address assertions he may have fabricated information about his work record and finances.

In an interview with Newsday, Cairo called disclosures in a New York Times story "serious" and said Santos, 34, of Whitestone, Queens, assured him in a brief telephone call that he would address the claims. 

"I believe that George Santos deserves an opportunity to address the claims detailed in the article, which have been repeated by other news sources," Cairo said in a statement.

"Every person deserves an opportunity to 'clear' his/her name in the face of accusations," said Cairo, who is closely involved in GOP candidate selection.

"I am committed to this principle, and I look forward to the Congressman-Elect’s responses to the news reports," Cairo said. 

Cairo's call for more information from Santos echoed comments by other prominent officials and campaign consultants.

A Times investigative story Monday called into question key parts of the biography Santos shared on the campaign trail, including information he provided about his education, work history and financial assets.

Santos' office did not return Newsday calls and emails requesting comment Monday. 

But in a statement, Santos' personal attorney, Joseph W. Murray, said "enemies" at the Times were "attempting to smear his good name with these defamatory allegations." 

Murray continued: "After four years in the public eye and on the verge of being sworn in as a member of the Republican led 118th Congress, The New York Times launches this shotgun blast of attacks."

Santos beat Democrat Robert Zimmerman in the Nov. 8 election to replace retiring Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove). Santos also ran unsuccessfully against Suozzi in 2020.

The district contains sections of Nassau County and Queens.

Former Rep. Pete King (R-Seaford), who endorsed Santos in November, told Newsday on Monday, "there was nothing on the record that would have disqualified him."

But King said Santos "will have to fully explain these allegations as to whether they are false or misleading. These are serious allegations, and he has to answer them. I’m going to think that the House Ethics Committee will investigate these allegations.” 

Zimmerman, a Great Neck public relations executive, called on Santos to give up the seat.

“While it’s validating that many of these issues raised in the campaign are getting the full exposure it’s important right now to have a very aggressive investigation in Congress and by the U.S. Attorney," Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman said Santos' refusal to answer questions about his background and finances is a "matter of integrity" and shows he's "unfit for public office." 

State and Nassau Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs said Santos is "clearly not someone who should be seated in the next Congress."

Michael Dawidziak, a political consultant who works primarily for Republican candidates, told Newsday Santos, "has a right to have his side heard. Granted, it doesn't sound good. A nonstatement is a statement as well. If he has evidence to the contrary it would behoove him to get it out there soon."

Dawidziak also criticized both political parties for not doing enough to research Santos' background.

"We do opposition research on our own candidates. I mean we find out things all the time we don't want to on our own candidates," Dawidziak said. "How did the Democrats miss this?"

Cairo told Newsday he largely trusted the endorsement of Queens Republican leaders.

"He made a strong run in 2020 so he was the presumptive candidate in 2022," Cairo said. 

Cairo said Santos submitted a resume and was interviewed by Nassau GOP committee members.

"He didn't go into a deep description of what he did for a living and his parents, but in the interview it was similar to his resume," Cairo said.

 "We usually defer to the leadership of the home candidate. When we have candidates from Nassau there's some sort of self-vetting because we usually know them," Cairo added. 

Larry Levy, executive dean of suburban studies at Hofstra University, said there was not a lot of attention on the 3rd congressional race early on in the cycle because the district had been historically Democratic.

"Since this was not considered a competitive seat by either party entering the campaign it’s possible a lot of questions might not have been asked and a lot of attention might not have been paid to it by the local political operatives and the media,” Levy said. 

Hank Sheinkopf, a Manhattan-based consultant who has worked on Democratic campaigns, said it would up be to the voters to decide and "who says the voters are even angry now?"

"This all might not matter depending on what he does as a Congress person," Sheinkopf said of Santos. "Now he'll have work harder to connect with the electorate … "Certainly there will be a Democrat waiting to take him out."

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.