Ziwe releases George Santos interview: ‘What could we do to get you to go away?’

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — Comedian and satirical talk show host Ziwe has released her full interview with former New York Rep. George Santos, who earlier this month became the sixth lawmaker to ever be expelled from Congress.

During their conversation, which was recorded last week and released on YouTube on Monday, Santos said he’d consider running for office again.

“I’m not ruling it out,” he said.

Ziwe later asked Santos, “What could we do to get you to go away?”

“Stop inviting me to your gigs,” he quipped in response.

Ziwe asked Santos about his allegiance to former President Donald Trump and the various scandals that plagued his tenure on Capitol Hill, which include allegations that he misused his campaign funds and revelations that he fabricated significant parts of his life story and resume.

At another point during the interview, she jokingly asked Santos, “What excites you most about going to prison?”

“That was below the belt,” he said.

Earlier this month, the House voted to expel Santos following the release of a long-awaited report by the House Ethics Committee, which concluded that the congressman had “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.”

Santos announced in November that he would not seek reelection following the release of the report, but he had refused to resign and denounced the investigation as “a disgusting politicized smear.”

Santos has separately pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges, including allegations of fraud related to Covid-19 unemployment benefits, misusing campaign funds and lying about his personal finances on House disclosure reports.

Ziwe is a comedian and writer who is known for satirical, newsmaking interviews with her guests about race, politics and other cultural issues. She starred in “Ziwe,” which aired on Showtime for two seasons.

Earlier this month, Ziwe invited Santos to sit down for a chat via social media, saying he’d be an “iconic guest.” In a reply on X (formerly Twitter), Santos wrote, “let’s do it.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Clare Foran and Haley Talbot contributed to this report.