Recently, there has been much controversy surrounding George Santos (R NY), a newly elected Republican Representative of Queens. Throughout his campaign, Santos made an abundance of claims that are now being proven to be false. Amongst all the fuss, his treasurer has also resigned, causing people to further speculate about his credibility.

So how far do Santos’ lies really extend? Far enough to call his religion, marriage, charitable creations, and reasons behind his mother’s death into question. 

First, Santos claimed his grandmother was a victim of the Holocaust, but upon further investigation, it was revealed that that is nowhere near true. When Santos was asked about these claims, as well as ones where he claimed to be Jewish, he responded that he “never claimed to be Jewish… I said I was Jew-ish.” Additionally, a former roommate of Santos’ shared that Santos often used to make anti-Semitic remarks. 

Second, Santos claimed to be married to a man, but his husband never appeared during his campaign, people who have visited his house have claimed that he wasn’t wearing a wedding band, and there are no records in New York of any marriage license between George Santos and a man. 

Third, Santos stated that he created an animal donation charity, Friends of Pets, but upon a lack of IRS records, social media accounts of the organization, and evidence of the charity being registered in New Jersey or New York, the existence of Friends of Pets is heavily doubted. 

Next, Santos claimed that his mother died during the attacks on September 11, but according to immigration documents, his mother had applied for a visa to the US in 2003, having been in Brazil since 1999. 

Santos also lied about losing employees to the Pulse shooting, being on Hannah Montana, having been a Broadway producer, and that he has a college degree. He also refuted claims of him being a drag queen and then rescinded them, as well as fabricated a story that he was the target of an attempted assassination. Essentially, besides the fact that he is Brazilian and a Congressman of Queens, every other bit of his life is being scrutinized. 

It is clear that many of his lies were used to make him seem more relatable to the public and invoke the sympathy of potential voters. However, now, these fabrications will serve as a reason for him to not be reelected. Amidst the significant amount of media attention he has received, Santos refuses to resign. Santos likely will not face for lying, but there is reason to assume that he may have also been fraudulent regarding campaign finances. His assets and salary majorly increased from 2020 to 2022, by going from essentially no assets to millions of dollars, and a $ 50,000-a-year salary to $750,000. These increases have no documented explanations. 

Santos is facing heavy pressure to resign from Democrats, who say that allowing him to continue holding office will set a dangerous precedent that condones candidates who lie about their entire lives. Either way, the results of this turmoil will set an important tone for America’s political future.