OK, so now that Kevin McCarthy is safely ensconced as speaker of the House, we can stop the jokes about GOP Rep. George Santos adding "House speaker" to his LinkedIn resumé. This, of course, raises the question of the next great Santos-related meme.

I've seen photoshopped pictures of the Fab Four with John, Paul, Ringo and George Santos. I've seen George Santos on the moon. I've even heard the quips about Santos claiming he knew Jeffrey Epstein and had evidence he was "murdered."

Wait, what's that? Oh. My bad. That last one is real. I mean, at least Santos is claiming it is, which means it's probably 100 percent false -- but it's the latest gift from the fabulist that keeps on giving.

According to Fox News, Santos said during a podcast interview in 2020 that he'd met Epstein and believed the disgraced financier and alleged sex trafficker had been killed.

The official story, of course, is that Epstein killed himself in his jail cell in the Manhattan Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on Aug. 10, 2019. Given Epstein's numerous associations with the rich and powerful, however, as well as the numerous coincidences that led to a prisoner who was closely watched being able to hang himself without the intervention of guards or the act being caught by security cameras, theories abound as to what actually happened to Epstein.

Not that Santos knows anything, but he told "The Rory Sauter Show," a conservative podcast, that he absolutely did -- and he added that Epstein's one-time partner (both romantically and in crime), Ghislaine Maxwell, might be the "key" to unlocking much of the mystery behind Epstein's death.

"I’m not a conspiracy theorist here, but I know she holds the key to a lot of careers being obliterated, and that goes from politicians to businessmen and other influential people in this country," he said during the Aug. 12, 2020 interview.

"She should not be in custody in the United States. She should be in the U.K. or anywhere else in the world if she’s granted protection. Maybe the U.K. is bad idea because [Prince Andrew] is there. But you get the picture."

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Prince Andrew, who is linked to both Epstein and Maxwell, is alleged to have abused at least one of the duo's victims, Virginia Giuffre, while she was underage.

"I just have a feeling we’re going down the same path as Epstein, and we’re gonna kill and silence a lot of justice by allowing this woman to be murdered," Santos said.

The host then, according to Fox News, proffered his own theory: Epstein was really still alive and given immunity because he knew too much.

"I believe he’s dead, and I believe he was murdered. That’s my conclusion," Santos said.

"I met Epstein at a couple private equity conferences," he added. "I’ve never dealt with him personally, but I’ve met him. I’ve seen him. I’m 6’ 2", and the guy was taller than me. There’s just no way you can hang yourself off of a bunk bed at that height. I can’t hang myself off a bunkbed because human instinct kicks in and the first thing you do is stand up."

"The whole story is just so skewed. He didn’t hang himself. He was murdered. And yes, he’s dead -- what proceeds to be my opinion," Santos continued.

"Hey look, it’s 2020. I’ve seen the most bizarre, unthinkable and unimaginable happen this year from the world economy crashes to New York City becoming a ghost town for three months. From looting and rioting being praised and law and order being literally demonized, I wouldn’t put it past me, Rory, I wouldn’t put it past me that he’s still walking around and we’re all like, ‘Oh my God, the guy’s alive.’ You can’t tell."

At the time of the interview, Santos was a conservative activist with a mostly fake resumé painting himself as a successful Wall Street executive running a long-shot campaign against entrenched Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi in New York's 3rd Congressional District. It was an odd claim to make, but no one was paying much attention at the time -- not even locally. Suozzi won by 12 points, according to Ballotpedia.

However, 2022 was a different matter. In what was supposed to be a red-wave year for Republicans, Santos ran in one of only two states where the predicted wave actually happened: New York, where Republicans dramatically over-performed. Santos won over Robert Zimmerman, a moderately wealthy businessman and establishment Democratic Party functionary who had never attempted a run at elected office.

Alas, local media didn't get around to vetting Santos until after the election, which was kind of an issue, since almost every fact in his political backstory was a straight-up lie so blatant the protagonist of "The Talented Mr. Ripley" would have told him, "Whoa, slow down dude."

Santos had graduated from none of the institutions he reportedly held degrees from, nor had he worked for either of the Wall Street firms he said he had. He claimed to have had grandparents who fled the Holocaust; that was a lie. He claimed to be Jewish, then later amended this to say what he actually meant was that he was "Jew-ish."

There were even questions over whether or not he was actually gay, something he claims to be despite the fact he was married to a woman until just before his first congressional run. He's now facing an ethics investigation over campaign finance law violations.

And now, he met Jeffrey Epstein at a private equity conference and believes he was murdered -- but he could also be walking among us because, you know, 2020 was a strange year.

I've got to admit, though -- this is the first definitive sign I've yet seen that makes me fully believe Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. It's not evidence, mind you. I'm just convinced that if George Santos said he met Epstein and believes he was either killed or freed, the only logical conclusion is suicide.

And I just can't wait to hear the explanation for this these lies in Santos' next inevitable trainwreck interview. "I never said he was murdered, Tucker. I said he was murdered-ish. Big difference."

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.