A former roommate of George Santos became the latest headache for the newly sworn-in congressman on Tuesday when he appeared on CNN for an interview with Anderson Cooper and levied a new set of accusations of dishonesty against the freshman House member.
Gregory Morey-Parker’s interview was not the source of the worst allegations Mr Santos faces, including that he faked his grandparents’ Jewish ancestry and falsely claimed that they escaped the Holocaust. But nevertheless it was a surreal moment as Cooper asked him about one particular appearance by Mr Santos at a “Stop the Steal”-themed rally ahead of January 6.
According to Mr Morey-Parker, Mr Santos can be seen in videos from that day actually wearing a Burberry scarf he stole from Mr Morey-Parker when they lived together.
“I understand he was actually wearing something he took from you at a pre-January 6th rally in Washington? Is that the scarf?” asked Cooper.
“Yes. If you can believe this,” Mr Morey-Parker responded.
A surprised Cooper then reiterated: “Wait a minute, he’s wearing the scarf?”
“A stolen scarf to a steal-the-election rally. You have to love the irony. And the audacity, quite frankly,” Mr Morey-Parker said.
At another point during the interview, the congressman’s ex-roommate would repeat a claim that Mr Santos cheated a homeless pet owner out of thousands in donations, which Mr Santos has denied.
Mr Santos faces a growing number of Republicans, including the local GOP group in his home of Nassau County, calling for his resignation. Democrats say the same, but have begun mocking him publicly with the prospect of the congressman being forced out of office by one or more legal investigations recently launched by state and federal authorities.
Mr Santos has publicly insisted that he will remain in office for the entirety of his term.
The Independent has reached out for comment about the claims made about the congressman by Mr Morey-Parker.
