Rep. George Santos’ lies were first exposed in 2021 to his own campaign officials, some of whom then quit, The New York Times reports. The New York Republicans allowed his staff to run a background check on him, and it reportedly showed what the Times calls “a pattern of deception that cut to the heart of the image he had cultivated as a wealthy financier.” He was urged to drop out, and when he refused, they dropped out of the campaign—though it’s unclear if the discrepancies were flagged to anyone higher up in the GOP.
