Demonstrators call for George Santos to resign; Nassau GOP chair pulls support for 2024

Long Island lawmakers and activists on Thursday called for Rep.-elect George Santos to resign his seat amid growing allegations that he lied about his work experience, education and personal history, while the Nassau GOP said it won't support the Republican if he runs for reelection in 2024.

At the same time, the Queens District Attorney's Office became the latest prosecutorial agency to look into the Republican's background.

Nassau Republican Committee Chairman Joe Cairo released a statement Thursday night saying "I don't know what party would endorse him as a candidate … This Republican committee will not support George Santos in 2024."

Earlier Thursday, more than 200 community residents protested outside Nassau criminal court in Mineola at an event co-sponsored by several Democrats, chanting "we deserve better" and holding signs reading "Do Not Reward a Liar" and "Santos Lies. Democracy Dies."

"People like you have resorted to deception to take power," said youth activist Greg Leung. "Lying to and defrauding voters has become commonplace. And this behavior has eroded the American dream."

Santos, 34, who won election to New York's Third Congressional District in November, admitted this week to fabricating key parts of his resume, including that he did not graduate from Baruch College, work for Citigroup or Goldman Sachs, or have Jewish ancestors. Santos has claimed his grandparents survived the Holocaust, although records appear to show they were born in Brazil.

Questions have also been raised about how Santos earned his wealth, his alleged time at Horace Mann, an elite private school in the Bronx and his role with a Queens animal rescue group. Media reports Thursday night said Horace Mann officials denied Santos went to the school.

On Thursday, old tweets from Santos were unearthed in which he stated the 9/11 terror attacks "claimed" his mother’s life. Months later, he tweeted that his mother died of cancer in 2016.

The New York State Attorney General's Office said it was reviewing the matter while the Nassau District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday that it has opened a criminal investigation. Multiple reports indicate that federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York are also looking at Santos' finances.

On Thursday, the Queens DA's Office said it was reviewing whether it "has jurisdiction over any potential criminal offenses."

Santos and his press team did not respond to requests for comment.

A man who answered the door at Santos' sister's Elmhurst, Queens, apartment said the sister did not want to talk and that George Santos was not there.

At the Mineola event, Rabbi Deborah Bravo of the MakomNY Worship Center in Bethpage, said Santos' lies about his Jewish ancestry were particularly offensive.

"To lie about being descendants of Holocaust survivors for the purpose of political gain is beyond unacceptable," she said. " … No one has the right to presume this ancestry for the purpose of political gain and empathy from constituents. This lie is simply beyond reproach."

Democrat Robert Zimmerman, who lost to Santos by six points, called for his opponent to step down and to allow a special election to occur to fill the seat. At the last, he said, House Republicans should launch an ethics investigation of the first-term lawmaker.

"What's at stake before us is not about the results of a congressional election," Zimmerman said. "What's at stake is protecting our democracy, restoring our confidence and the integrity of our public officials."

In an interview after the protest, Zimmerman, a veteran public relations executive, tried to explain why Santos' fabrications were not raised by his campaign before Election Day.

"Opposition research was done by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee," he said. "We incorporated aspects of it that we could prove in our campaign. Andwe raised other issues to our local media [who] did in fact pursue it."

With John Asbury