I finally chat with George.

Well, it finally happened. I made contact with George. 

Over on Bluesky, the new social media app recently launched by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, I was finishing up Mother’s Day dinner (at a restaurant in George’s district, no less) when I glanced at my Bluesky notifications, and there he was. But explaining how the hell he got there requires a little context. 

Last week I was in the Long Island courtroom where George was arraigned on 13 criminal charges, and upon seeing the courtroom artist’s sketch, remarked on Bluesky that it was not the most accurate description. Enter: Martin Shkreli AKA “Pharma Bro”, notorious for raising the price of a life-savings AIDS drug by 5,000% and later going to prison for securities fraud. Of my sketch review, Shkreli replied on Wednesday evening, “They’re never ever accurate.”

I can’t imagine why he’d say that. 

Shkreli does not follow me or know me in any capacity as far as I know, but the nature of the fledgling app with 60,000 users is that users with any sort of public profile are likely to see one another’s posts. It should also be noted that Shkreli is an extreme outlier on Bluesky where the user base is largely extremely progressive and diverse. 

So imagine my surprise when THE George Santos (also an outlier on the app) replied to Shkreli’s comment on the court room sketch, writing Sunday night: “Especially when the media is bias [sic]. Remember what they did to you? The double standard is gross!”

It was particularly shocking given that George had blocked me on Twitter just one day prior. (Yes, amazingly he hadn’t already.) But there he was. So i took my shot. “Hey George,” I replied to his comment to Shkreli, “Let me know when you’re ready for an interview.” Then I waited for his patented attempt at snark to shoot back. 

Sure enough, seven minutes later he replied: “With you? My calendar is full for the next 3 incarnations, might be a while so I suggest you sit down or move on. 😉”

Yes, i did initially read that as “incarcerations.”

But there I had it: Confirmation George is familiar with me and my relentless pursuit of the truth about my hometown’s congressman. After all the emails to his press people and unanswered replies on Twitter, in true George form he threw me a curveball by casually engaging on an app most people haven’t heard of. 

I may not get that sit down anytime soon, but my commitment to covering his current legal woes and all those yet to come remains steadfast. 

So I’ll see you in your fourth incarnation, George. 😉

Have a Santos-related tip? Email [email protected]