'I lied to him': Leaked audio reveals George Santos admitting to his deception and 'bad judgement'

Embattled Rep. George Santos, a Queens/Long Island Republican, has used the word “embellish” to describe the many lies he told during his 2022 campaign. And Santos’ critics have responded that lying about being the grandson of Holocaust survivors and falsely claiming his mother was inside the World Trade Center on 9/11 is much more than “embellishment.” Santos’ actions, his critics say, go way beyond mere “embellishment.”

But in new audio reported by Talking Points Memo on February 2, Santos can be heard admitting how badly he lied.

In the audio, according to TPM reporters Josh Kovensky and Hunter Walker, Santos is heard talking to an applicant for his staff, Derek Meyers, on Monday, January 30 and explaining why he couldn’t hire him permanently. Myers, Kovensky and Walker report, is a former news reporter from Ohio who volunteered for Santos and “faced unusual criminal charges last year after he published surreptitiously recorded audio of courtroom testimony that he said he obtained from a source.”

READ MORE:George Santos is living the GOP's values

Santos, during that conversation, is concerned that because of Meyers’ legal problems, making him a permanent member of his staff could be problematic. And Santos, referring to his chief of staff Charley Lovett, admits, “I’ve obviously f****d up and lied to him, like I lied to everyone else…. I trust his judgment more than my own judgment.”

Santos, according to Kovensky and Walker, also told Myers, “I’ve made bad judgment calls, and I’m reaping the consequences of those bad judgment calls.”

Meyers, who gave the audio to TMP, finds it ironic that Santos, of all people, thinks that hiring him permanently would be a bad look.

Meyers told TPM, , “I’m thinking to myself, I’m a threat and concern to this institution — George Santos, you’re George Santos!”

READ MORE: DOJ suggests it is conducting a criminal investigation of George Santos

Read Talking Points Memo’s full report at this link.