Republican Governor Demands George Santos Face Accountability

Governor Asa Hutchinson, an Arkansas Republican, said Sunday that Representative-elect George Santos, a New York Republican, needs to face accountability for lying about his resumé to his constituents.

Hutchinson spoke with ABC's This Week on Sunday and said, "There has to be accountability for that, that is unacceptable. I don't know whether you go so far as to not seat him, but certainly the Ethics Committee should deal with this. That's unacceptable in politics. It breaches the trust between the electorate and their elected official."

Santos flipped New York's 3rd Congressional District beating Rob Zimmerman in what had been a Democratic seat. Shortly after winning, investigations initiated by The New York Times and CNN revealed that many things Santos said about his life were false, while others remain unsubstantiated.

Santos told the New York Post that he "embellished" his resumé, but insisted it would "not deter me from having good legislative success" in Congress.

In a statement sent to Newsweek on Wednesday, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly, also a Republican, said, "The numerous fabrications and inconsistencies associated with Congressman-elect Santos are nothing short of stunning."

She continued: "The residents of Nassau County and other parts of the 3rd District must have an honest and accountable representative in Congress. No one is above the law and if a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute it."

Meanwhile, political analyst and Florida Atlantic University professor Craig Agranoff, told Newsweek on Sunday, "Whether or not a person should be allowed to serve in Congress or any other elected office will depend on the laws and regulations that apply to the situation."

He added: "If a candidate for Congress is found to have lied on their resume or to have falsified other official documents, they may face consequences such as disqualification from the election or removal from office if they have already been elected."

Santos also admitted to lying about graduating from Baruch College in 2010, during his interview with the New York Post.

"I didn't graduate from any institution of higher learning. I'm embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resumé," Santos said.

Santos also admitted he "never worked directly" for Goldman Sachs or Citigroup. Instead, he said that he did business with the financial companies while working for a company called Link Bridge, calling his original claim a "poor choice of words."

Meanwhile, he also received major pushback for saying he is the grandson of Holocaust survivors, but an investigation by The Forward found that Santos' maternal grandparents were born in Brazil prior to WWII.

Santos told the New York Post that he never claimed to be Jewish, but "because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background, I said I was 'Jew-ish.'"

"If he [Santos] was so willing to lie to the public, time and time again, he should be held accountable to the voters who might have supported him because of these falsehoods. In other words, some voters might want their votes back," Agranoff said.