George Santos was caught admitting he “screwed it up” and in a secret recording released by a would-be collaborator just days after it was revealed the politician claimed he had produced a Broadway play “lied to everyone”.
The 34-year-old New York politician reportedly told donors during his 2021 convention campaign that he produced Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, which ran from 2011 to 2014, but lead producer Michael Cohl denied those claims.
Santos lived in Brazil for part of 2011 and worked as a customer service representative at Dish Network between 2011 and 2012, according to Bloomberg.
The falsehood is just another lie Santos can add to his mountain of them. Now his unpaid volunteer Derek Myers, 30, who is also a journalist, has exposed him by admitting to lying in a secret recording taken on Monday.
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George Santos was caught admitting he “screwed it up” and “lied to everyone” in a secret recording released by a would-be employee
Myers, who claimed he was promised he would be hired as an associate in the Santos office, was fired from his DC position on Monday.
At the beginning of the recording, which Myers gave to the Talking Point Memo (TPM), the glorified intern bluntly asked Santos if they were going to “fire” him.
Santos seemed surprised and said: “I’m sorry? You are not employed [yet].’
Myers was pulled into the congressman’s office to discuss his potential employment with Santos and his chief of staff Charley Lovett, where he was told to “stop going to Colombia for his diluted botox” and complimented the young man’s thrift tie .
During that conversation, Santos admitted to Myers that he lied about his background, stating, “I lied to him [Lovett] like I lied to everyone else and he still forgave me and gave me a second chance unlike some other rights [now].
“That’s why I trust him ten times more. I trust his judgment more than my own judgment,” he continued. “That’s why he’s my chief of staff, right, I wouldn’t be here in this chair if it wasn’t for him because you know how many times during the campaign he stopped me from making stupid decisions?”
Derek Myers, 30, secretly recorded his meeting with Santos and his chief of staff Charley Lovett on Monday, where he caught Santos saying: “I lied to him [Lovett] like I lied to everyone else
Santos also joked that Myers could go to federal prison for seven years for “recording in that building,” but he seemed unaware that his volunteer was actually recording him. Myers hadn’t informed either man that he was recording the conversation. DC is a one-party consent state.
“I’ve never recorded,” Myers is heard on the tape.
Santos, who appeared unaware of the recording, joked, “Have fun at your own risk!”
The issue of wiretapping was raised because Myers had previously been charged with it when his Ohio-based newspaper, the Scioto Valley Guardian, received a court record, although the defendant chose not to record.
It was also recently revealed that Santos claimed he was the producer of the Broadway play Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, but lead producer Michael Cohl (pictured) denied this
The ill-fated play ran on Broadway from 2011 to 2014. Its producer has denied Santos was ever involved
Myers, who was in Colombia to get Botox when the court tape was taken, said he received the tape from someone who was in the courtroom that day. Due to the gravity of the court case, which charged a man with eight murders, Myers decided to release the recording and was later charged with wiretapping.
‘He killed eight people in their sleep, a whole family. We felt at the time that the public should be allowed to hear that statement,” Myers said. “I can see it’s worrying for you guys because you’re like, ‘Oh, can we trust this guy now?'”
Myers said he didn’t even know how to “tap”. However, Santos said it’s “not about us, it’s about this institution”.
‘I’m like, ‘Am I a threat and concern to this institution?’ — George Santos, you are George Santos!’ Myers said TPM.
Myers was formally fired from Santos’ office by Lovett on Wednesday, and Santos’ chief of staff confirmed that it was due to concerns surrounding the Ohio case, the young journalist told TPM.
Myers also claimed Santos “placed his hand on my left leg near my knee” before during his brief tenure at the DC office, “took his hand and moved it down my leg into my inner thigh and touched my groin.” “.
However, Myers begged for his job back a day later, but only spoke to Vish Barra, Santos’ chief of operations, who helped him get the job. He said he left behind the spare tie that Santos complimented when they met on Monday and a mug that read “deny everything”.
On Friday, the self-proclaimed media mogul filed a sexual harassment police report with Capitol Police, he said on Twitter. He also filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics against Santos.
“As indicated in the filing, my complaint relates to violations of house ethics in which I, as an unpaid volunteer, performed staff duties with promises of employment and compensation, only to be released after several days of work without compensation,” he wrote in a Long twitter thread.
“Also, my files describe sexual harassment I suffered in the Congressman’s office. Hopefully, these matters will be adequately addressed by the police or ethics committee in a timely manner.’
Myers claimed his title was marked as “volunteer” until his personnel records were fully processed by the payroll department.
Despite the sexual harassment, the journalist asked for his job back on Thursday, but was turned down. He said he only spoke to Santos operations chief Vish Barra (right), to whom he left a spare tie and a meg that said “deny all” to give to Santos
He also claimed Santos asked him on Jan. 25 if he “had a Grindr profile” and “insisted that I sit next to him on the small sofa.” He also claimed Santos “placed his hand on my left leg near my knee” before proceeding to “take his hand and move it down my leg into my inner thigh and then touch my groin.”
Myers further claimed in the letter – which he also posted to Twitter – that Santos told him, “My husband is out of town tonight if you’d like to come by.”
Santos had claimed during his campaign that he was married and living on Long Island with his husband. However, the Daily Beast could not find a marriage listing in New York, nor did the politician ever appear with said husband on the campaign trail. He has also not been seen wearing a wedding ring since arriving in Congress.
However, Santos was previously married to a woman whom he divorced in 2019.
has reached out to Santos’ attorney Joseph W. Murray for comment.