NPR reporter alleges George Santos threatened him with ‘a gun in your face’ during heated call

WASHINGTON, DC: George Santos already had a resume full of scandals, but now the former congressman is back in the spotlight over an alleged phone call that included the words “a gun in your face.”

On June 2, NPR reporter Bobby Allyn reported that the US Department of Justice is investigating Santos for possible insider trading.

George Santos faces Kalshi betting investigation

The probe centers on wagers placed on the betting platform Kalshi, where millions of dollars were reportedly riding on whether Santos would attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in February.

The story gets stranger from there.

In October, Trump commuted Santos's seven-year prison sentence for wire fraud and identity theft after he had served less than three months.

Santos had only been in Congress a short time before his 2022 election victory turned into a national embarrassment following revelations that he had fabricated large parts of his biography, including claims about his career, education, and even a false assertion that he was Jewish.

Ahead of the State of the Union, Santos posted a video saying, “I’m going to be there for the State of the Union in the gallery, guys.”

But he never showed up. According to Allyn, Santos had actually placed bets on himself not attending.

“Kalshi detected Santos' trades, froze his account and referred the case to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Department of Justice, which both opened investigations into Santos, according to a person familiar with Kalshi's investigation who was not authorized to speak publicly,” Allyn reported.

George Santos disputes report during phone call

Things escalated when Allyn said Santos personally called him, unprompted and furious.

“I was winding down my work day here in Los Angeles when my phone rang at 5:37 pm from a blocked number,” the report read. “It was former Congressman George Santos. He was boiling with rage.”

Santos allegedly challenged the accuracy of the reporting. Allyn asked to record the call, but Santos refused. (California law requires all parties to consent to being recorded.)

At one point, Santos allegedly said the reporting would “get you a gun in your face.”

“I asked him who his lawyers are, and he refused to answer,” Allyn wrote. “I questioned whether he really does have attorneys. He replied: ‘I'm George f**king Santos, of course I have a legal team.’”

“He then proceeded to name-call and attack the reputation of NPR, the kind of invective that's common when reporting on people who try to discredit reporters and news organizations for stories they don't like,” Allyn continued.

“What Santos said next took me aback, even by his outlandish and brazen standards. ‘This story is going to get you a gun in your face,’ Santos said.”

When Allyn asked what he meant, Santos allegedly replied, “You know what I mean.”

George Santos denies making gun threat

Despite the tone of the call, Allyn said the remark did not feel like a direct threat in context.

“It did not exactly feel like an imminent threat to my life that a convicted fraudster expelled from Congress who lives thousands of miles away from me in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains was lodging violent words at me,” he wrote. “It felt more bizarre than threatening, but then it grew even stranger and more confusing.”

Later, Santos reportedly denied ever making the statement.

“I NEVER SAID 'this story would get a gun in your face, I said 'it'd blow up in your face'” he reportedly texted Allyn.