Hmm. Why does George Santos’ response to his latest legal calamity sound so familiar?

US Congressman and notorious fabulist George Santos (R-NY) was arraigned yesterday at Central Islip federal courthouse in Suffolk County, Long Island. The Rep. faces seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.

Santos appeared at the courthouse to hear the charges against him. He pleaded not guilty and was released on a $500,000 bail.

After his court appearance, Santos wasted no time rushing to Twitter to issue his two-word response: “WITCH HUNT”.

Like most things Santos tweets, he was instantly ratioed (earning more replies than likes). And many laughed at his bluster.

You’re not Trump. So trying to use his playbook won’t have the same impact you seem to think it will.— Brooke Hammerling (@brooke) May 10, 2023

Liar says what? pic.twitter.com/x92B7TZwOI— jethro. (@jethrostudio) May 10, 2023

if the pointy hat fits, bro— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) May 10, 2023

They caught an actual witch tho.— Thoreau A. Whelan (Josh) (@thoreauawhelan) May 10, 2023

A short while later, he returned with an equally predictable tweet, asking: “WHERE’S HUNTER?”

That prompted a few thousand more tweets mocking him.

Santos vows to still run for re-election

Santos’ tweets echoed comments he made to reporters outside the courthouse. He again claimed to be the victim of a “witch hunt”. He also vowed to clear his name and run for re-election.

At one point, he was asked how he could defend himself from the charges.

“Well, look, the way I look at it, I’ll be a chairman of a committee in a couple of years if you just look at the standards of Congress,” Santos quipped back.

The Justice Department issued a lengthy statement detailing the charges against Santos. They relate chiefly to ways in which Santos allegedly misrepresented his finances to the public and government agencies.

“This indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations,” stated Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.  

“Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself. He used political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House of Representatives.”

Santos’ next court appearance is on June 30. At the moment, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has not asked him to step down. This is despite Democratic and Republican lawmakers demanding Santos’ resignation.

Online, many were quick to remind Santos that he ran an election campaign promising to be tough on crime. Santos, in particular, may live to regret one of his old tweets.