Former Congressman George Santos found himself at the center of another controversy this week after an NPR reporter claimed the disgraced ex-lawmaker launched into an angry and bizarre phone call that included a remark about “a gun in your face.”
The unusual exchange came just days after NPR published a report revealing that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Santos over possible insider trading tied to wagers placed on the prediction market platform Kalshi.
According to NPR reporter Bobby Allyn, the investigation focuses on betting activity surrounding President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address earlier this year. At the time, millions of dollars were reportedly being wagered on whether Santos would attend the event.
The controversy stems from Santos’s public statements before the speech. On social media, the former congressman told supporters he would be present in the gallery during the State of the Union.
“I’m going to be there for the State of the Union in the gallery, guys,” Santos said in a video posted the day before the address.
Despite that declaration, Santos ultimately did not attend the event.
Allyn reported that Santos allegedly placed bets on the outcome that he would not appear. According to NPR’s reporting, Kalshi detected the trades, froze Santos’s account, and referred the matter to both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Department of Justice. A source familiar with Kalshi’s investigation told NPR that both agencies subsequently opened investigations into Santos.
The latest scrutiny comes after a turbulent few years for the former New York Republican. Santos was elected to Congress in 2022 but soon became engulfed in scandal after revelations that he had fabricated significant portions of his biography, including claims regarding his education, professional background, and heritage.
In October, President Trump commuted Santos’s seven-year prison sentence for wire fraud and identity theft after Santos had served less than three months behind bars.
Two days after publishing the Kalshi story, Allyn reported that he received a phone call from Santos that quickly turned confrontational.
Writing about the conversation, Allyn said his phone rang from a blocked number as he was wrapping up his workday in Los Angeles. The caller, he said, was Santos, who was furious about the article.
According to Allyn, Santos accused the NPR story of containing numerous inaccuracies. When Allyn asked whether he could record the conversation, Santos declined. California law requires all parties to consent before a call can be recorded.
The exchange reportedly grew increasingly heated. Allyn said he questioned whether Santos actually had legal representation after Santos refused to identify his attorneys.
Santos responded forcefully.
“I’m George f***ing Santos, of course I have a legal team,” he told the reporter, according to Allyn’s account.
Allyn said the conversation then took a more unusual turn. He alleged that Santos warned him, “This story is going to get you a gun in your face.”
When Allyn asked what he meant, Santos allegedly replied, “You know what I mean.”
The reporter wrote that he did not view the remark as an immediate threat but described the interaction as strange and confusing.
The story took another twist later when Santos denied making the statement at all.
In a text message to Allyn, Santos insisted he had been misquoted.
“I NEVER SAID ‘this story would get a gun in your face,’” Santos wrote. “I said ‘it’d blow up in your face.’”
With federal investigators reportedly examining the Kalshi wagers and the dispute over the phone call now public, Santos once again finds himself surrounded by controversy—an all-too-familiar position for the former congressman whose political career has been marked by headline-grabbing disputes and legal troubles.
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