George Santos 'stands by' his claim from 2020 that Jeffrey Epstein was murdered ... trends now
Embattled New York Republican Rep. George Santos said on Thursday that he 'stands by' his belief that pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was 'murdered,' a claim he made on a podcast in August 2020.
Speaking to reporters outside of his office including DailyMail.com, Santos also denied ever claiming he survived an assassination attempt - one of the latest in a string of public relations crises for the freshman congressman.
Santos told The Rory Sauter Show in August 2020 that he had met Epstein a 'couple' of times and described him as a 'cordial gentleman,' and said multiple times that he believed the disgraced financier did not commit suicide.
Asked by DailyMail.com if he still believes the murder conspiracy theory now, Santos replied: 'I stand by that comment.'
Another past clip, resurfaced by MSNBC, purportedly shows Santos stating in Portuguese: 'We have already suffered an attempt on my life, an assassination attempt, a threatening letter, having to have the police, a police escort standing in front of our house.'
But Santos told reporters on Thursday: 'The interview was conducted in Portuguese, and whoever translated it, translated it poorly.'
He clarified that he was referring to 'death threats.'
'Like every member of Congress receives them all the time. I can give you a stack of them,' Santos said.
He told reporters earlier on Thursday that he would 'soon' hold a press conference to discuss the mounting controversies but refused to elaborate with a specific date.
In his August 2020 podcast appearance, Santos was pressed by the far-right host on a theory that Epstein was still alive. Santos maintained he was murdered - but added 'anything can happen' in this day and age.
Epstein killed himself while awaiting court proceedings in a New York City jail after he was charged with sex trafficking and other counts in 2019.
His death has sparked conspiracy theories
