Former U.S. Rep. George Santos called NPR reporter Bobby Allyn from a blocked number, furious over a published story detailing federal investigations into his prediction market trading activity.
The story revealed that the Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission had opened investigations into Santos’ trading on the prediction market platform Kalshi.
Officials at Kalshi detected that Santos was betting against his own appearance at President Trump’s State of the Union address in February, even as he posted a video on X telling followers how excited he was to attend.
Three sources confirmed that Kalshi referred the matter to federal authorities in the Southern District of New York and Washington, D.C.
During the phone call, Santos claimed the story was riddled with errors, saying “my lawyers have been calling the Department of Justice all day, and they can’t find any investigation.”
When asked to identify his attorneys, Santos refused, responding: “I’m George f*cking Santos, of course I have a legal team.”
Santos then escalated the confrontation dramatically, telling the reporter: “This story is going to get you a gun in your face.”
When asked to clarify what he meant, Santos replied only: “You know what I mean.”
Rather than wait to be publicly confronted, Santos immediately began denying the threat, sending a text message claiming he had actually said the story would “blow up in your face,” not referencing a gun.
Santos then took to X to tell the world the incident never occurred, claiming the reporter “was now making things up,” even before the threat had been publicly reported.
In his X post, Santos wrote: “I’ve interacted with hundreds of reporters in my life… not once was I ever threatening or aggressive… sassy? Sure but aggressive and threatening? NEVER!”
Santos also accused the reporter of issuing an ultimatum over the lawyers’ identities, writing in the post that the reporter was “demanding I disclose the names of my lawyers ‘or else’ (only God knows what that means).”
No such ultimatum was issued, and the characterization appears to be Santos reframing himself as a victim in an exchange he initiated.
Santos has grown increasingly active online since President Trump commuted his prison sentence, giving him both his freedom and restored access to X.
Since the federal investigation story broke, the Associated Press reported that Polymarket, a rival prediction market and former paid partner of Santos, has cut ties with him entirely.
Santos had been paid by Polymarket to promote its prediction markets on social media, a relationship now severed amid the broader scrutiny of his activities in that space.
Santos is now reportedly offering 55% off his Cameo videos, making his personalized recordings available for $150, though his commitment to accuracy in those videos remains, at best, an open question.
