Congressman-elect George Santos of New York admitted in a Monday interview that he made false claims concerning his personal and professional life. He also said these statements should not deter him from political duties.

Interviewed by the New York Post, Santos revealed that he never worked for Goldman Sachs or Citigroup as he had previously stated. He also confessed to embellishing details of his personal life and religious practices.

The Long Island politician proclaimed that he is “not a criminal” and still fully expects to have “good legislative success.”

Santos came clean on never having “worked directly” for the financial giants as he asserted on his resume. He wrote that misstatement off as a “poor choice of words” and clarified that a firm called Link Bridge where he was vice president had dealings with both companies.

He also confirmed that he never graduated from college, though he’d previously said he received a degree from Baruch College in New York City in 2010.

For this he said he was “embarrassed” but added that “we do stupid things in life.”

His stories of family history also came under fire, leading Santos to issue further clarification to the Post. His campaign website said his mother was Jewish and his grandparents fled from Nazis during World War II.

Santos stated that he is “clearly Catholic” but related that his grandmother told stories about being a Jewish convert to Catholicism. His reasoning for previous claims was that he never said he was Jewish, though he further said because of his maternal family he was “Jew-ish.”

Billed as the first openly gay non-incumbent Republican to win a House seat, Santos also came under fire when the Daily Beast reported he’d been married to a woman until shortly before his failed 2020 campaign.

The representative-elect admitted to be married to a woman for five years but said he is now in a gay marriage. For explanation, he said “people change. I’m one of those people who change.”

Santos also confirmed a New York Times report that he was ordered by a judge to pay $12,000 for several months of back rent. He explained that his family had medical debt and did not pay off the rent. He said he “completely forgot about it.”

Santos put down any concerns that his dishonesty will deter him from representing New Yorkers in the House beginning next week. He proclaimed that he campaigned on “people’s concerns, not my resume.”