George Santos, a newly elected US congressman, has apologised after it was revealed much of his apparently impressive life story is a complete fabrication.
But Mr Santos, who was elected in November as a Republican congressman for the state of New York, still plans on taking office next week – and there may be nothing anyone can do to prevent him, despite increasing calls for him to quit.
Throughout his election campaign, Mr Santos boasted an impressive resume, positioning himself as the embodiment of the American dream, coming from a working class, immigrant family, The Associated Press reported.
But it has since emerged that he had lied about everything from his education, to where he used to work and even his heritage.
“Did I embellish my resume? Yes, I did. And I’m sorry, and it shouldn’t be done,” he told City and State NY this week.
Questions started to emerge about the 34-year-old earlier this month.
The New York Times sounded the alarm after trying to verify some of his claims, including that he graduated in 2010 from Baruch College, one of the top universities in New York City.
The college had no record of Mr Santos graduating then, The Times reported. Nor could Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, two places he claimed to work, find any record of him being employed there.
In a bombshell article, the NYT also called into question Mr Santos’ family business, the multiple properties he claimed to have, and the animal charity he had.
Initially, Mr Santos shared a statement from his lawyer to Twitter, alleging he was the kind of representative who the left was “threatened by”.
Tweet from @Santos4Congress
Now, Mr Santos has basically admitted to lying about his resume.
“I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume,” he told the New York Post.
“I own up to that. … We do stupid things in life.”
He admitted to not graduating from college, and he told The Post he hadn’t worked for Citigroup or Goldman Sachs, but rather a company called LinkBridge, where he did business with both companies.
Republican Jewish Coalition shuns Santos
Among other claims, Mr Santos had reportedly stated on his campaign website that his mother was Jewish and his grandparents had fled Europe during World War II.
However, he walked that back in his interview with the Post.
“I never claimed to be Jewish,” he said.
“I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish’.”
In response, Matt Brooks, the executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said Mr Santos had misrepresented his family history.
“We are very disappointed in Congressman-elect Santos. He deceived us and misrepresented his heritage,” Mr Brooks said.
“In public comments and to us personally he previously claimed to be Jewish. He has begun his tenure in Congress on a very wrong note. He will not be welcome at any future RJC event.”
Speculation over secret marriage
It wasn’t just his allegedly fraudulent family history that was scrutinised.
Mr Santos is the GOP’s first openly gay congressman.
Now, his sexuality has been called into question.
The Daily Beast obtained records and reported that Mr Santos was previously married to a woman, something he had never spoken about publicly.
Back in October, he told USA Today he “never had an issue” with his sexuality in the “past decade”.
In that same interview he expressed support for the LGBT community. However, he had previously supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ controversial Don’t Say Gay bill.
The Daily Beast reported that Mr Santos’ divorce from the woman (whose name has not been revealed) was finalised in the weeks leading up to an unsuccessful 2020 election bid.
The publication acknowledged people marry for many reasons. But it noted it was odd that Mr Santos had never publicly acknowledged his marriage, but had publicised his relationship with a man.
When Mr Santos spoke to The New York Post, he didn’t deny marrying a woman. He confirmed the marriage lasted from 2012 until 2017.
“I’m very much gay,” he said.
“I’m OK with my sexuality. People change. I’m one of those people who change.”
He also confirmed that he did not own any property and said, despite other shock claims made by The NY Times, he was not a criminal in the US, Brazil or any other jurisdiction.
However, he did admit to being ordered by a judge to pay thousands to a former landlord, after he neglected to pay rent.
He said at the time he was drowning in medical debt towards the end of his mother’s life. Mr Santos’ mother died of cancer, his website states.
Santos’s promise to voters
Despite having to own up to the lies told during his campaign, Mr Santos has vowed he will serve out his two-year term, which begins on January 3.
Sources told The New York Post that House Republicans were aware of Mr Santos’s lies and they became somewhat of a “running joke”.
However, some of his Republican colleagues are offended at some of Mr Santos’s false statements.
Nick LaLota, another Republican-elect from the state of New York has called for a House Ethics Committee probe, or for law enforcement to be engaged if necessary, Reuters reported.
Elsewhere, former representative Tulsi Gabbard ripped into Mr Santos, asking: “Do you have no shame?”
Ms Gabbard interviewed Mr Santos as a fill-in host on Fox News this week.
“Now that the election is over, and I’m finding out all of these lies that you’ve told, not just one little lie or one little embellishment – these are blatant lies – my question is, do you have no shame?” she asked him.
“And the people who are now, you’re asking to trust you to go and be their voice for them, their families and their kids in Washington?”
In reply, Mr Santos turned around the question to accuse US President Joe Biden of lying.
“Joe Biden has been lying to the American people for 40 years. He’s the President of the United States. Democrats resoundingly support him. Do they have no shame?” he said.
“I understand everybody wants to nitpick at me. I’m gonna reassure this once and for all. I’m not a facade. I’m not a persona. I have an extensive career that I worked really hard to achieve.
“And I’m going to deliver from my experience because I remain committed in delivering results for the American people.”
