In the months since Representative George Santos’s series of lies and exaggerations were exposed, he has adopted a defiant stance toward reporters, accusing the news media of leading a biased crusade against him. But on Tuesday, the House’s first day back after its summer recess, Mr. Santos did something that he has avoided since taking office: He gave a major television interview. The pugilistic attitude that Mr. Santos has long held toward critics was on full display. He called CNN a “hack network,” said the reporting around his life bore little resemblance to reality and tangled with the anchor Erin Burnett. Even as Mr. Santos, 35, faces a raft of federal criminal charges and awaits the conclusions of a monthslong House ethics inquiry, to which Republican leaders have tied his fate, he will not go down without a fight.

Source: CNN September 13, 2023 19:09 UTC