Freshman U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-Nassau/Queens), the national laughingstock ignoring calls to resign amid investigations into his campaign finances, is the lead contender for biggest liar ever elected to Congress, experts say.
Given politicians’ propensity for spinning narratives that favor their agenda, the competition is fierce. In the past century, the one who historians say came closest to stunning the nation for his lies was former U.S. Rep. Douglas Stringfellow (R-Utah), who admitted exaggerating his service in World War II, claiming he was the sole survivor of an espionage unit who was captured and tortured in a concentration camp — a fabrication the U.S. Army later shot down.
