George Santos yanks new staffer’s job offer… and warns him against cheap Botox

Be careful about getting cheap Botox. That’s allegedly the warning message from GOP Rep. George Santos to a potential new staffer who he let go this week.

Derek J. Myers, 30, is a former journalist who applied for a job working for Santos.

Starting last week, and while the HR side of his recruitment was processed, Myers began work as a “volunteer” in Santos’ office. However, this past Monday, Santos and his chief of staff, Charley Lovett, invited Myers to a meeting.

Unbeknownst to Santos, Myers secretly recorded their discussion. He later took the recordings to Talking Points Memo (TPM).

Thrift store ties and botox

The meeting began with a chat about Myers’ ties. Santos complimented him on them, and Myers revealed he bought them for $2 from thrift stores. He then went on to talk about Botox, telling Santos that whilst reporting on a murder trial in Bogota last year, he went to Colombia “to get my Botox.”

“It’s like $100, but it’s $400 here,” Myers explained.

“Stop going to Colombia for your diluted Botox,” Santos, 34, replied, “I spend a lot more than that on Botox, but I trust the people.”

Despite the small talk, Myers said he knew something more serious was afoot. He asked Santos directly if he was being fired.

Last year, Myers faced criminal wiretapping charges. In a local media outlet he runs in southern Ohio, he published a secret court recording that he says was passed on to him by a source.

Press freedom organizations defended Myers. The case against him is currently in limbo, according to TPM.

Santos had got wind of the charges. He worried it might pose a future reputational headache for him. He wanted to hear Myers’ side of the story.

According to the leaked recordings, Santos allegedly said, “It’s not concerning to us, it’s concerning to this institution.”

Myers spoke to TPM of his shock at Santos’ attitude, given the multiple allegations against him.

“I’m thinking to myself, I’m a threat and concern to this institution — George Santos, you’re George Santos!”

Related: Christian Walker details some pretty flirty encounters he had with George Santos and, um, ew

Santos also spoke of his own issues with public trust during the meeting. Referring to his chief of staff, Lovett, Santos said, “I’ve obviously f*cked up and lied to him, like I lied to everyone else.”

“And he still forgave me and gave me a second shot, unlike some other people.”

Secret recording shared with media

Santos did not rescind the offer of work during Monday’s meeting. However, on Wednesday, Myers says the offer was officially rescinded in a message from Lovett.

Myers went to TPM with his story. The outlet approached Santos for comment, alerting him to the secretly recorded audio.

Santos told Semafor yesterday he was expecting leaked audio to drop from a potential staffer.

According to Semafor, “It is legal under federal and local District of Columbia law to record your own conversation without the other participants’ consent. Nonetheless, Santos said he is looking for ‘guidance’ on options to respond, and that he planned to alert prosecutors handling Myer’s case in Ohio.”

Santos told the outlet he dropped Myers over his “evasive” answers regarding the pending criminal case against him.

Related: George Santos confirms that was him in drag: “I was young and had fun at a festival”

Myers issues statement

Myers yesterday posted a photo of himself, seemingly taken while he was working in the Santos office. He praised his former colleague Vish Burra, the burly and bearded “Operations Director” often spotted by Santos’ side in Congress in recent days.

I’ll forever be grateful for the friendship I have with @VishBurra. The man, himself pictured here, always working and grinding. No surprise there’s a phone glued to his ear. pic.twitter.com/qrvmBjLL68

— Derek Myers (@DerekMyers) February 2, 2023

Shortly after, Myers posted a statement through his lawyers.

pic.twitter.com/4X9Gg9GPe2

— Derek Myers (@DerekMyers) February 3, 2023

Myers claims, the details of the wiretapping charge “are readily available in a Google search and the facts speak for themselves. The matter was condemned by numerous press freedom organizations in my defense.”

He continued, “Once the Congressman learned of the 2022 issue several days after my offer and after I had been working in his office, he became paranoid and concerned about having me around. He worried about ‘a media firestorm and liability,’ which he relayed to me in a meeting on Monday.

“On Wednesday, the job offer was rescinded, with Chief of Staff Charley Lovett citing ‘a media frenzy underway’ and that ‘the Congressman did not need the extra attention’.”

“During my short time in the office, I remained loyal to who was supposed to be my future boss. I defended him, guided him in the best interest of the district, and asked him to reconsider his stance on my employment when I was released. Most importantly, I worked for the constituents.”

Queerty has contacted George Santos’ office for comment. We’ll update this post if we hear back.