‘George, are you able to bodily not cease mendacity?’
That was Saturday Night Live’s tackle the most recent within the scandal surrounding US congressman George Santos.
The US politician is on the centre of an internet of extraordinary revelations and accusations protecting all the things from his heritage to jobs he merely by no means held.
Described by critics as a “total fraud”, he’s accused of fabricating components of his resume whereas operating for Congress. While he denies a number of the allegations made in opposition to him, he has admitted that a few of his claims have been lies.
Despite the media furore, presently solely a “handful” of his fellow Republicans are calling for him to go. Speaking to Sky News, a political strategist attributes his behaviour to the “Trump effect”.
Here’s a round-up of Mr Santos’s claims, how we received right here and what might occur subsequent to the controversial congressman.
Who is George Santos?
It’s a seemingly easy query, however one that’s turning into more and more troublesome to get a straight reply to. Here is what we all know for certain.
The Brazilian-American, 34, was elected to symbolize New York’s third Congressional District in November 2022, turning into the primary brazenly homosexual Republican to win a House seat as a non-incumbent.
While his victory brought on a buzz round Capitol Hill, it was quickly dimmed by allegations beginning in December over his resume.
A New York Times investigation discovered plenty of false claims Mr Santos made on his resume together with lies over his schooling and former jobs.
From there, it is all unravelled.
His responses have different too. He has admitted that some have been lies, rejected others and has backtracked on a couple of too.
He’s ‘Jew-ish’ not Jewish
Mr Santos has made conflicting remarks over being Jewish, collaborating in a drag efficiency in Brazil and the circumstances round his mom’s dying.
So let’s begin together with his heritage.
After his victory, he informed the Republican Jewish Coalition summit, the election meant that “now there will be three” Jewish Republican members of Congress.
But then afterwards, he backtracked and informed the New York Post he “never claimed to be Jewish”, and mentioned he was Catholic including: “Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background, I said I was ‘Jew-ish’.”
He mentioned 9/11 ‘claimed his mom’s life’ – data present she wasn’t within the nation
It’s additionally fairly complicated if you check out the conflicting experiences over the dying of Mr Santos’s mom, Fatima Caruso Devolder.
While operating for Congress in 2021, Mr Santos tweeted that the 9/11 terrorist assault in New York “claimed his mother’s life”.
Yet on his marketing campaign web site, Mr Santos mentioned his mom was in her workplace within the South Tower on the day of the terrorist assault however “survived” and died “a few years” later from most cancers.
However, data obtained by Sky’s affiliate NBC News and experiences by the Washington Post citing immigration data, instructed Ms Devolder had not even been residing within the US on the time of the assault and was the truth is residing in Rio de Janeiro.
He has not publicly commented on that since.
‘Sue me for having a life’
Now on to one of many newest claims in regards to the congressman’s efficiency at a drag present.
A Brazilian performer, who makes use of the drag title Eula Rochard, informed Reuters she befriended the now-congressman in 2005 in Brazil.
She mentioned in 2008, he competed in a drag magnificence pageant in Rio utilizing the drag title Kitara Ravache.
While the congressman first known as the experiences “categorically false” on Twitter, when confronted on digicam, he informed US channel ABC7 – “I was young and I had fun at a festival – sue me for having a life.”
The Trump impact
Political strategist Rina Shah mentioned solely a “handful” of Republicans are calling for Mr Santos’s resignation and his behaviour echoes the “Trump effect”.
The former senior staffer to 2 Republican Congress members described him as a “conman”.
She informed Sky News: “The situation certainly highlights the Donald Trump effect. The impact of the 45th President, a real style of running to just regularly make claims to be boastful in a way of things that were simply not true and proven to be untrue.”
She added that Mr Santos has “taken on” that fashion “in a defiant manner that says ‘come and get me because even if you try to get me, I’ll just continue to lie about it’.”
Despite the lies, Ms Shah mentioned no high Republican will take motion in opposition to him as a result of they “cannot afford to lose” his House seat.
The Republicans received a razor-thin majority within the House following the midterms and he or she warned that Mr Santos’s elimination might endanger the seat.
He did not work on Wall Street
While the lengthy listing of accusations in opposition to Mr Santos grows, he has admitted to mendacity about some issues.
Mr Santos claimed on his marketing campaign web site he had a finance profession working at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs – however the NYT investigation discovered neither establishment had any document of his employment.
He admitted to mendacity about his schooling and the roles on the two corporations and informed the New York Post – “My sins here are embellishing my resume. I’m sorry.”
Stealing from a disabled veteran
But there are some circumstances the place Mr Santos has flat-out denied sure claims.
He denied an accusation by veteran Richard Osthoff, who accused him of scamming him of $3,000 from a GoFundMe marketing campaign web page raised for his dying service canine in 2016.
Mr Osthoff informed the information web site Patch that he was informed Anthony Devolder, one of many names Mr Santos used earlier than coming into politics, had a pet charity known as Friends of Pets United.
He claimed Mr Devolder closed the web page and disappeared after the funds have been raised. Mr Santos has angrily denied the experiences and known as them “shocking and insane”.
What makes his ‘lies’ totally different?
While some might say mendacity in politics just isn’t new, one psychologist specialising in mendacity and deception analysis explains why Mr Santos’s claims and accusations could appear a bit of totally different.
Dr Chris Hart, a psychology professor at Texas Woman’s University, informed Sky News: “If we look at the lies most politicians tell they’re often exaggerations and half-truths. They rarely lie in such a way that they are making a claim which has absolutely no basis in reality and that’s where he is different.
“The frequency with which he seems to inform them is a bit shocking in comparison with different politicians.”
‘I will NOT resign’
Revelations about Mr Santos’s lies and the allegations against him have caused anger among Democrats who have described him as a “complete fraud” and are calling for him to resign.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he is a “full and complete fraud” and he “deceived and connived his means into Congress”.
Despite calls from some Republicans and Democrats, Mr Santos has repeatedly refused to resign.
For now, it appears he has no intention to go wherever.
Source: information.sky.com”