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“I continue to not understand why there is this enormous inquisition.” Rep. George Santos George Santos talks about ‘enormous inquisition’ into his finances

In an exclusive interview with FOX 5 News, Rep. George Santos said, "I’ve operated honestly."

NEW YORK – Rep. George Santos gave an exclusive interview to FOX 5 News on Thursday to answer questions about his finances and an ethics investigation.  But he only gave 5 minutes for the interview and had a timer sound when the 5 minutes was over.

When asked by Jodi Goldberg to comment on a recent report claiming that more than $365,000 is missing from his campaign filings, Santos pleaded ignorance.

"I don't know about any missing money.  That's news to me," Santos said.

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Santos also said he loaned $705,000 from his personal finances to his campaign and doesn't understand why anyone would make a big deal about it.

"I continue to not understand why there is this enormous inquisition and inquiry into my business practices and the legitimacy of it.  I've operated honestly," Santos said.

RELATED: House reportedly asked to investigate George Santos' marriage

As for all the $199 expenses on his campaign finance disclosures, just short of the amount that would require itemized receipts, he claimed they could simply be clerical mistakes.

"No one more than me wants those rectified if there is any discrepancy. I want those rectified.  I'm the person of interest who want them rectified immediately," Santos said.

RELATED: Rep. George Santos accused of puppy theft in 2017

Santos gave himself high marks for what he's done in his short time in Congress.

“I have many allies in Congress” Rep. George Santos

"I have many allies in Congress and we've done fantastic work together.  I've very excited," Santos said. "From the moment we come back from being in recess I'm going to be introducing some original bills and I think the district is going to appreciate them because they are really district-focused bills."

RELATED: Rep. George Santos' office vandalized

He said he has not been personally contacted by any regulatory agencies in connection with any investigations. Fox 5’s Jodi Goldberg talks about Santos interview

George Santos gave Jodi Goldberg exactly five minutes to ask questions. Here is what she was able to get out of the congressman.

Santos, the 34-year-old Republican accused of lying about large swaths of his background and accomplishments,was sworn in as a member of the 118th Congress last month. Santos was elected to serve as the representative of New York’s Third Congressional District.

Initially, the victory by Santos, an openly gay Republican who flipped a Long Island House seat held by Democrats for a decade, was seen as one of his party's bright spots in an otherwise underwhelming midterm election.

But as reports began to emerge that he had lied about having Jewish ancestry, a career at top Wall Street firms, and a college degree, Santos turned into a distraction and embarrassment to the GOP.

As the timer went off on the strictly timed 5-minute interview he was asked if he planned to run for reelection.

Santos said, "I don't know yet." Rep. George Santos responds to questions about his finances

The embattled Long Island Congressman says he can’t understand the "enormous inquisition" into his business practices.

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Strictly Come Dancing star arrested on suspicion of rape

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Strictly Come Dancing star arrested on suspicion of rape

A Strictly Come Dancing star has been arrested on suspicion of rape.

The unnamed man, who is in his 30s, was also detained over a separate allegation of “non-consensual intimate image abuse”.

The Met Police said an arrest was made in east London on Friday in a joint investigation with Hertfordshire Constabulary, following a “third-party allegation of sexual and drug-related offences”.

It is understood the arrest is not related to the upcoming production of Strictly Come Dancing – the 23rd series, which is in the rehearsal stage and is due to launch in September.

“On Friday 22 August, officers arrested a man in his 30s in east London on suspicion of rape and non-consensual intimate image abuse,” a spokesperson for the Met said in a statement.

The investigation is in its early stages and inquiries are ongoing, the spokesperson added.

The man was released on bail on Saturday until a date in November, the force said, according to BBC News.

Hertfordshire Constabulary did not add anything further.

A spokesperson for the BBC said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on an ongoing police investigation.”

Earlier this month, it was reported the broadcaster had called in lawyers to investigate following claims two of its stars had used cocaine.

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UK

Nigel Farage’s deportation plan relies on these conditions – legal expert explains if it could work

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Nigel Farage's deportation plan relies on these conditions - legal expert explains if it could work

Explaining how they plan to tackle what they described as illegal migration, Nigel Farage and his Reform UK colleague Zia Yusuf were happy to disclose some of the finer details – how much money migrants would be offered to leave and what punishments they would receive if they returned.

But the bigger picture was less clear.

How would Reform win a Commons majority, at least another 320 seats, in four years’ time – or sooner if, as Mr Farage implied, Labour was forced to call an early election?

How would his party win an election at all if, as its leader suggested, other parties began to adopt his policies?

Politics latest: Starmer ‘angry’ about Farage’s language on migrant hotels

Highly detailed legislation would be needed – what Mr Farage calls his Illegal Migration (Mass Deportation) Bill.

But Reform would not have a majority in the House of Lords and, given the responsibilities of the upper house to scrutinise legislation in detail, it could take a year or more from the date of an election for his bill to become law.

Reform’s four-page policy document says the legislation would have to disapply:

The United Nations refugee convention of 1951, extended in 1967, which says people who have a well-founded fear of persecution must not be sent back to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom

The United Nations convention against torture, whose signatories agree not expel, return or extradite anyone to a country where there are substantial grounds to believe the returned person would be in danger of being tortured

The Council of Europe anti-trafficking convention, which requires states to provide assistance for victims

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Farage sets out migration plan

According to the policy document, derogation from these treaties is “justified under the Vienna Convention doctrine of state necessity”.

That’s odd, because there’s no mention of necessity in the Vienna Convention on the law of treaties – and because member states can already “denounce” (leave) the three treaties by giving notice.

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It would take up to a year – but so would the legislation. Only six months’ notice would be needed to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, another of Reform’s objectives.

Read more:
Women and children will be detained under Farage plans
Far right ’emboldened’ says MP as Starmer faces mounting pressure over immigration

Mr Farage acknowledged that other European states were having to cope with an influx of migrants. Why weren’t those countries trying to give up their international obligations?

His answer was to blame UK judges for applying the law. Once his legislation had been passed, Mr Farage promised, there would be nothing the courts could do to stop people being deported to countries that would take them. His British Bill of Rights would make that clear.

Courts will certainly give effect to the will of parliament as expressed in legislation. But the meaning of that legislation is for the judiciary to decide. Did parliament really intend to send migrants back to countries where they are likely to face torture or death, the judges may be asking themselves in the years to come.

They will answer questions such as that by examining the common law that Mr Farage so much admires – the wisdom expressed in past decisions that have not been superseded by legislation. He cannot be confident that the courts will see the problem in quite the same way that he does.

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UK

Six injured after Leicestershire dog attacks

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Six injured after Leicestershire dog attacks

Six people are believed to have been injured after dog attacks in Leicestershire, police have said.

Officers received two calls regarding dog attacks in the area of Beveridge Lane, Bardon Hill, on Thursday morning – one at 6.30am and the other at 7.44am.

Leicestershire Police said that in the first call to police, a person reported seeing a man being attacked by two dogs.

Upon arrival, no dogs were located, but a victim was identified.

Later, in the second call to the force, three people were reported to have been bitten in the same location.

Two dogs – confirmed to be Caucasian shepherds – were then discovered after firearms officers, a police dog and its handler were deployed.

The force added that both dogs were safely removed and are now being held in secure kennels.

In an update on Tuesday, officers said that two further people had come forward to report they were bitten by a dog in the same location at the time, bringing the total to six.

Read more from Sky News:
‘Headphone dodgers’ targeted by new TfL campaign
Epping migrant hotel resident appears in court

Women and children will be detained under Farage deportation plans

Two people, a girl aged 17 and a man aged 47, were arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog in a public place.

The man was also arrested for a further two offences under the Animal Welfare Act. Both have been released under investigation.

Leicestershire Police also said it made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct because of a prior report made about the dogs.

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