{"id":266078,"date":"2026-04-13T20:11:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T20:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/266078\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T20:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T20:11:08","slug":"weho-city-council-candidate-jonathon-wilson-intends-to-lead-with-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/266078\/","title":{"rendered":"Weho City Council candidate Jonathon Wilson intends to lead with purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been just over two years since George Santos \u2014 the disgraced politician who once represented New York\u2019s Third District \u2014 was expelled from Congress. Now, Santos is breaking his silence about his expulsion, imprisonment, subsequent pardon, what he believes he did wrong, and allegations regarding immigration fraud.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Santos was elected to represent the Long Island communities of North Hempstead, Glen Cove, and Oyster Bay, one of the wealthiest congressional districts in the United States. This week, he sat in the lobby of the Hyatt Capitol Hill, just blocks from his former office in the Cannon House Office Building, to speak with the Washington Blade about how he became the center of one of the most outrageous political scandals in modern U.S. history. Despite the media scrutiny surrounding his lies, criminal convictions, and eventual pardon by President Donald Trump, Santos appeared relaxed during the interview, speaking freely about his experiences, admissions, and grievances.<\/p>\n

Scope of Santos\u2019s misconduct<\/p>\n

Many journalists have struggled to verify George Santos\u2019s personal history and professional resume. Numerous claims he made during his campaigns have been debunked or walked back, particularly regarding his personal and professional history since 2020.<\/p>\n

Santos gained media attention for claiming Jewish heritage despite being raised Catholic and identifying as Catholic. He said his maternal grandfather grew up Jewish, converted to Catholicism before the Holocaust, and raised his children Catholic.\u00a0Investigations, however, show his maternal grandparents were born in Brazil<\/a>, not Ukraine or Belgium. Santos described himself variously as \u201cJew-ish,\u201d \u201chalf Jewish,\u201d a non-observant Jew, a \u201cproud American Jew,\u201d and a \u201cLatino Jew.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also misrepresented his mother\u2019s professional history, claiming she was \u201cthe first female executive at a major financial institution.\u201d Records, including her 2003 visa application, show she had not been in the U.S. since 1999 and listed her occupation as a domestic worker.<\/p>\n

Santos further\u00a0fabricated his educational history<\/a>, claiming a bachelor\u2019s degree in finance and economics from Baruch College, where he said he graduated near the top of his class. Investigations revealed he never graduated. He also falsely claimed an MBA from New York University on official campaign documents \u2014 a misrepresentation that later became grounds for his expulsion. Santos later blamed the lies on a local Republican Party staffer.<\/p>\n

His professional claims were also fraudulent<\/a>. Santos called himself a \u201cseasoned Wall Street financier and investor\u201d and claimed to have worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. Both companies reported no record of his employment. When pressed, Santos admitted he had used a \u201cpoor choice of words,\u201d eventually describing his experience as \u201climited partnerships.\u201d He also falsely claimed to have lost four employees in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando; no victims had any connection to companies listed in his biography.<\/p>\n

Santos misrepresented his residences during his 2020 campaign. He listed an Elmhurst, Queens, address outside the district he sought to represent, later moving with his partner to a Whitestone rowhouse. He was registered to vote at the Whitestone address but did not live there.<\/p>\n

When asked about his lies, Santos told the Blade he wishes he did everything differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything, everything, everything,\u201d Santos told the Blade. \u201cI made so many poor choices that I think it would be redundant to not say everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

He did not fully take responsibility, describing the scandals as a mix of personal ambition and what he called a \u201csensational political assassination.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmbition is a toxic trait, and unfortunately, I was consumed by that. I forewent everyone else\u2019s [considerations]\u2026 I had no consideration for anything around me other than myself, and that\u2019s awful,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In addition to personal history fabrications, Santos made numerous false claims the Department of Justice later treated as campaign finance fraud. He solicited donations through a fake political entity, diverted funds into an LLC he controlled, and disguised personal expenditures as legitimate political expenses, using\u00a0donations for luxury purchases<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Santos denied wrongdoing, stating, \u201cI didn\u2019t steal people\u2019s credit cards\u2026 I didn\u2019t go shopping at Hermes and Onlyfans. It\u2019s not true either.\u201d<\/p>\n

He defended some purchases as campaign-related, singling out House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only two luxury brands that you\u2019ll see of purchases in my campaign were Ferragamo and Tiffany. [I got] Ferragamo for the [male members of the] Republican steering committee when I was lobbying for my seat committee and three Tiffany pens for the females \u2026 That\u2019s where those are legal expenses. They\u2019re very legal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The House Ethics Committee found \u201csubstantial evidence\u201d of lawbreaking, stating Santos \u201cfraudulently exploited every aspect of his House candidacy,\u201d using campaign funds for luxury shopping, cosmetic procedures, travel, and rent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a choice to not straw donate to my campaign, and I chose to, yeah, that was a poor choice,\u201d Santos admitted. \u201cOf course, I\u2019m guilty for that. Was I forthcoming in the GOP with the party? No, I was not. I was very dishonest with the GOP, and for that I regret, and I also regret that the GOP in New York created an environment that made somebody like me feel it was needed to do that. But I regret not being forthcoming and honest about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Santos also collected pandemic unemployment payments of approximately $24,000 while employed.<\/p>\n

He was charged with\u00a0multiple federal offenses,<\/a>\u00a0including conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, wire fraud, making materially false statements to the FEC, falsifying records, aggravated identity theft, access device fraud, money laundering, and theft of public funds. Santos\u00a0pleaded guilty<\/a>\u00a0to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to 87 months in prison in April 2025, ordered to pay hundreds of thousands in restitution and forfeiture. He was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, N. J., following Trump\u2019s pardon in October.<\/p>\n

Immigration fraud allegations<\/p>\n

\"\"George Santos (Blade photo by Michael Key)<\/p>\n

In addition to the professional and personal claims Santos has made that have been proven false, he also addressed allegations of immigration fraud raised by the Washington Blade. A source familiar with Santos\u2019s history with U.S. immigration proceedings described several alarming allegations, most notably a reportedly fraudulent marriage to his former wife, Uadla Viera, to\u00a0help her obtain U.S. immigration status<\/a>. Santos has adamantly denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

According to the source, who spoke to the Blade on condition of anonymity, Santos married Viera in a civil ceremony in Manhattan in 2012, despite neither living in the city. There are no known photos, announcements, or records of a wedding celebration, engagement, bridal party, shower, or honeymoon. This unusual lack of documentation stands out for Santos, whose life and actions are typically geared toward media attention.<\/p>\n

While the source questioned the motive behind the marriage, Santos insisted it was legal and not done for any nefarious purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cI married a person who was legally in this country, and all in all, what I did was kind of skip the line for her. And we were married, and there was no financial benefit [for me]. We were married. We had bills together. There\u2019s no proof or evidence of a financial benefit other than jaded people again, anonymously, lying saying \u2018He got paid. He offered me money.\u2019 First of all, I don\u2019t even have the wherewithal for that. Second of all, we went through a very rigorous \u2014 fucking rigorous \u2014 immigration litmus test, house interviews, multiple layers of interviews, a consummate marriage that was very obvious for anybody who was around us, and then I ended up cheating for now, obvious reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2013, the source said Santos dated Leandro Bis, a Brazilian tourist, while still married to Vieira. Santos denies this, framing the period as tumultuous and asserting that he was merely helping someone in need who now falsely alleges more. Bis told ABC News in a 2023 interview that Santos had \u201cpromised the world\u201d to him while they dated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never dated a Leandro,\u201d Santos told the Blade. \u201cI can\u2019t believe that six months of my life are common stories in the New York Times. This lunatic is going on TV and putting himself out there\u2026I look so much better than him, and I\u2019m much older than him. I mean life does numbers on people, because hate is a virus.\u201d<\/p>\n

The source further recounted Santos\u2019s interactions with Greg Morey-Parker, a former roommate of Santos\u2019s who told CNN that he was suspicious of Santos\u2019s academic resume and stories of family wealth.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreg Morey-Parker\u00a0is not a boyfriend\u2013 nowhere near a boyfriend,\u201d Santos told the Blade. \u201cHe was actually a homeless Starbucks barista that I felt bad for. Let him crash in my living room. \u2026 He accused me of stealing his Burberry scarf. You\u2019re homeless and you have a Burberry scarf? Bro, make up your fucking mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2014, Santos met Pedro Vilarva, 18, on Tinder and dated him for a year while still married to Viera.\u00a0According to the source, the trio socialized frequently: Santos and Vilarva with other gay men, Viera with heterosexuals. That same year, Santos filed a family-based immigration petition for Viera, who was granted conditional permanent residency. Santos publicly celebrated his engagement to Vilarva in a Facebook post at La Bonne Soupe, a Manhattan restaurant, though the relationship eventually ended. That Facebook post has since been deleted.<\/p>\n

Santos maintains he was honest with both immigration authorities and his spouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was honest with immigration authorities, 100% above board. I was honest with my spouse, as far as my relationship with him and with my ex-wife, so much I\u2019m the one who told her, I\u2019m sorry we can\u2019t do this anymore. I\u2019m seeing Pedro. And she knew Pedro, it was a shit show. Okay? I\u2019m gonna leave it at that, out of respect to both her and Pedro \u2026 I cheated on my first wife, and that was a whole story on its own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later in 2014, Santos met Morey-Parker, who told the Daily Beast that Santos advised him to marry an immigrant woman from Brazil to make money.\u00a0Santos denied that claim to the Blade.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is Gregory again making more shit up and there\u2019s no proof or evidence or anything that you can point to,\u201d Santos said.<\/p>\n

Viera became a permanent resident in 2017, according to previous media reports, and in 2018 gave birth to a daughter. Santos did not claim paternity or seek custody. Santos and Viera were granted an uncontested divorce in 2019. Viera became a U.S. citizen in 2022 and purchased a $750,000 home in New Jersey, according to the Blade\u2019s source and to the official deed of the property.<\/p>\n

Santos did not mention that he had been married or divorced during his congressional campaigns until an internal vulnerability study commissioned by the campaign identified it as a potential issue for voters.<\/p>\n

Santos downplayed all of this, saying it was a running joke among his staff. \u201cI would be a joke. I would allude to it [and say] \u2018Ladies, look, I love you guys, but there\u2019s a reason that I don\u2019t date women anymore, and I\u2019m divorced from my first wife.\u2019 It was like a running joke, making light of it and self-deprecating humor, which is my favorite kind of humor.\u201d<\/p>\n

He claimed that the New York Times story was the reason he became more sensitive with posts related to his ex-wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason it\u2019s not [visible] today is because I pulled it all off because of privacy issues. It was all archived for my Instagram, but if you had access to my Instagram prior to the New York Times story, you would see I never deleted my pictures with her\u2026They were all over my Instagram, going to the beach, like everything. It\u2019s like our entire life was documented together.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Trump, politics, and public office<\/p>\n

Santos was tight lipped when the Blade questioned him about his conversations with President Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never, ever share a lick of a word you exchange with the sitting president of the United States, no matter who that person is\u2026 I\u2019ve seen it backfire for people who did it with Biden, with Trump, with Obama. I\u2019m not about to make that mistake. Yeah, my conversations with the president are private.\u201d<\/p>\n

He did say that he was humbled by Trump\u2019s pardon but regrets ever entering politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had such a good life, and to have to be at the place I am today is indicative of, you know, politics is really for the elites\u2026I\u2019m so uninterested in politics these days\u2026I want to get involved in policy change, but not politicking.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he is not interested in a position in the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would respectfully decline [any government job], I would say thank you from the bottom of my heart, and say \u2018I\u2019m probably not best suited for a job in government.\u2019 I want nothing to do with the government or public office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trans and LGBTQ issues<\/p>\n

\"\"George Santos (Blade photo by Michael Key)<\/p>\n

Santos also spoke on his experience as both a member of the LGBTQ community and a Republican legislator. Most notably, he doesn\u2019t think there is any barrier for gay people to join the Republican Party, citing his ascent into Republican leadership as an example.<\/p>\n

He defended his record as a gay Republican, noting the continued election and reelection of LGBTQ members of Congress and emphasizing that he disproved stereotypes about Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no bigotry in the Republican Party. It\u2019s a matter of how you present yourself\u2026I\u2019m not saying there\u2019s no anti-gay sentiment, I\u2019m pretty sure there is, but I never experienced it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, explaining how far-right figures gaining prominence within Republican circles sets off some tension.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it exists\u2026 I mean Nick Fuentes exists, right? His followers go on my social media, and either call me a Jew or a homo all day long. But I\u2019m proud of it. I\u2019m proud that I was the first who didn\u2019t conceal the fact that he\u2019s gay, and still got elected by a constituency of Republicans in a landslide victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is important to note that Santos is the first openly LGBTQ non-incumbent Republican to be elected to Congress, not the first openly LGBTQ Republican to win an office. Santos won his seat with 53% of his district\u2019s vote while his opponent, Robert Zimmerman, got 46%.<\/p>\n

Santos spoke on his experience as a gay man, echoing other LGB Republicans who have distanced themselves from transgender rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is very controversial for me, but I don\u2019t loop my issues in with the trans community issues. I\u2019m a gay man. I\u2019m gender conforming. I\u2019m he\/him\/sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, saying all he can speak on is his experience as a gay man, which doesn\u2019t inherently lend him to being a champion for transgender rights, unlike many other LGB elected officials have done.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never walked in the shoes of a trans person, so I can\u2019t speak for them.\u201d Santos framed his stance on gender-affirming care carefully: \u201cI believe those people deserve the right to treatment, and that\u2019s fair. I don\u2019t believe in a mass agenda of pushing children towards that. I think we need to have a sensible conversation of, let\u2019s allow kids to get to a certain age, right? Let\u2019s allow adults to make those decisions, not children\u2026for permanent decisions like hormone blockers and puberty blockers\u2026that should be with adults.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is despite general medical consensus that views gender-affirming care as medically necessary, appropriate, and potentially life-saving for trans youth. The American Medical Association, the largest medical association in the country, opposes state laws that interfere with or ban gender-affirming care, calling such actions harmful and contrary to medical evidence.<\/p>\n

Prison experience<\/p>\n

Santos also spoke explicitly about what he says are dehumanizing conditions at FCI Fairton, something that has given him a new passion following his release from the facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s punitive and dehumanizing,\u201d he said when describing the situation he was in.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlack mold bubbling all over the ceiling. Rat infestations\u2026 Listeria and ringworm outbreaks. Expired food\u2026 Underwear with skid marks\u2026 either wear that or don\u2019t wear underwear.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, emphasizing the dehumanizing treatment he says he received, and hoping it will lead to prison reform.<\/p>\n

\u201cSolitary confinement for 41 days. Three showers a week. One 15-minute phone call every 30 days. [The warden] an absolute vicious human being. \u2026 We need to rehabilitate people. Just make it humane.\u201d<\/p>\n

Santos hinted at a future in media and activism, particularly related to prison reform, signaling that while he has stepped away from public office, he may still seek to influence policy and public discourse.<\/p>\n

Despite his dramatic fall from political grace, Santos remains unapologetically in the public eye. From allegations of fraud to his prison experience and ongoing controversies, he presents a portrait of a man both shaped by \u2014 and defiant of \u2014 the consequences of his actions. Whether the public views him as a cautionary tale, a redeemed figure, or something in between, Santos\u2019s story continues to provoke debate about accountability, ambition, and the limits of political power in America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It has been just over two years since George Santos \u2014 the disgraced politician who once represented New…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266079,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[116335,116336,93,116337,48,52,51,19099,19100,47,50,49,116338,87104,116339],"class_list":{"0":"post-266078","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-black-queer-voices","9":"tag-city-of-west-hollywood","10":"tag-featured","11":"tag-jonathan-wilson-west-hollywood-city-council","12":"tag-la","13":"tag-la-headlines","14":"tag-la-news","15":"tag-lgbtq-representation","16":"tag-lgbtq-visibility","17":"tag-los-angeles","18":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","19":"tag-los-angeles-news","20":"tag-queer-angeleno","21":"tag-weho","22":"tag-west-hollywood-city-council"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}