美国国家公共电台 NPR--New York GOP leader calls accusation of faked bio for new GOP House member 'serious'

New York GOP leader calls accusation¹ of faked bio for new GOP House member 'serious'

Transcript²

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

A freshman³ Republican congressman⁴-elect from New York appears to have faked much of his life's story. George Santos won a House race on Long Island in November. He made claims about his education and business career that sources tell NPR are untrue. A top Republican leader in New York now says the accusations⁵ against Santos are, quote, "serious." NPR's Brian Mann reports.

BRIAN MANN, BYLINE⁶: During the campaign, George Santos described his career and his life's story as a shining example of the American dream. Here he is speaking on CBS Channel 2 before the election.

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GEORGE SANTOS: I'm a private sector⁷ guy. I was born and raised in abject⁸ poverty in this country. And only in this country does somebody who comes from a basement apartment in Jackson Heights, like I did, is able to rise to become a successful businessperson, to then run for the United States Congress.

MANN: But it turns out much of Santos' backstory appears untrue. Santos claimed in his official campaign bio he graduated from Baruch College with a bachelor's degree in economics and finance. In a statement sent to NPR, the school says it searched its records for Santos and, quote, "could not find a match." The New York Times, which broke this story, also found Santos appears to have fabricated his history working for prestigious⁹ Wall Street firms. In a statement to NPR, a Citigroup spokesperson said they were, quote, "unable to confirm Mr. Santos' employment with Citi." A Goldman Sachs spokesperson also told NPR he could find no record of Santos ever being employed by their company.

NPR tried repeatedly to contact Santos without success. A top New York State Republican, Joseph Cairo Jr., however, issued a statement Monday calling the accusations against Santos serious. Cairo, who chairs the influential¹⁰ Nassau County Republican Committee on Long Island, said Santos, quote, "deserves an opportunity to address the claims." Every person deserves an opportunity to clear his or her name in the face of accusations, Cairo added. Santos, who is gay, also claimed in an interview with WNYC Public Radio that four of his employees died when a gunman opened fire at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in 2016.

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SANTOS: Which I happened to, at the time, have people that worked for me in the club. My company at the time, we lost four employees that were at Pulse Nightclub.

MANN: Santos said he has tragic¹¹ memories of that deadly mass shooting. But The New York Times investigation¹² could find no link between any of the 49 victims and firms or companies tied to Santos. Late Monday afternoon, the Santos campaign released a statement from his attorney, Joseph Murray, who called reporting about Santos' biography, quote, "defamatory allegations." But Murray didn't offer documents or other information to refute claims that Santos invented major parts of his resume.

Some Democrats¹³ are calling for Santos to resign before taking office. That would likely trigger a special election in a competitive House district. The scandal could also complicate¹⁴ Congressman Kevin McCarthy's bid for the House speakership. McCarthy has been struggling to secure enough votes from GOP members to win the gavel. Santos committed yesterday on Twitter that he would vote for McCarthy. But Santos' own future in Washington is now in serious question.

Brian Mann, NPR News, New York.

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1 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

4 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

5 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

8 abject   

adj.极可怜的，卑屈的

参考例句：

• This policy has turned out to be an abject failure.这一政策最后以惨败而告终。
• He had been obliged to offer an abject apology to Mr.Alleyne for his impertinence.他不得不低声下气，为他的无礼举动向艾莱恩先生请罪。

9 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

10 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

11 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。