Republican New York Rep. George Santos said in a 2020 podcast interview that disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein died by murder rather than suicide in prison.
The interview from Aug. 12, 2020, recently resurfaced as Santos is under a House Ethics investigation for lying about his family, educational and employment background before securing a seat in the House of Representatives after the November election. He was interviewed by the conservative podcast, “The Rory Sauter Show,” when he launched his first bid for Congress.
He expressed concern that Maxwell, a co-conspirator of Epstein, would face the same alleged fate as Epstein if sentenced to prison in the U.S. The Manhattan Federal District Court later sentenced Maxwell to 20 years in federal prison in a Jun. 28, 2022, sentencing after being found guilty of five to six child sex trafficking charges.
On a 2020 podcast, George Santos claimed he met Jeffrey Epstein and thought he’s dead, but also entertained the idea that Epstein could possibly still be alive. pic.twitter.com/aNAe40CQWF
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“I’m not a conspiracy theorist here, but I know she holds the key to a lot of careers being obliterated, and that goes from politicians to businessmen and other influential people in this country,” Santos said in reference to Ghislaine Maxwell. “She should not be in custody in the United States. She should be in the UK or anywhere else in the world if she’s granted protection. Maybe the U.K. is bad idea because the prince is there. But you get the picture.”
“I just have a feeling we’re going down the same path as Epstein, and we’re gonna kill and silence a lot of justice by allowing this woman to be murdered,” the now-congressman continued. “I believe he’s dead, and I believe he was murdered. That’s my conclusion.” (RELATED: Rep. George Santos Denies Report He Performed As Drag Queen In Brazil)
Santos claimed he had met Epstein a couple of times at private equity conferences, and doubted that he could have hung himself from a tall ceiling in a prison cell. He further said he would not “put it past” himself if the convicted child sex trafficker could still be alive.
“The whole story is just so skewed. He didn’t hang himself. He was murdered. And yes, he’s dead – what proceeds to be my opinion,” he said. “Hey look, it’s 2020. I’ve seen the most bizarre, unthinkable, and unimaginable happen this year from the world economy crashes to New York City becoming a ghost town for three months. From looting and rioting being praised and law and order being literally demonized, I wouldn’t put it past me, Rory, I wouldn’t put it past me that he’s still walking around and we’re all like, ‘Oh my God, the guy’s alive.’ You can’t tell.”
Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019 and found dead in his jail cell one month later, which guards concluded to be suicide. His death raised a variety of ongoing conspiracy theories and suspicions.