Politics

This video of admitted liar Rep. George Santos may be the saddest part of today’s GOP political drama

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) sits alone during Kevin McCarthy's battle to become House Speaker
Rep. George Santos (R-NY) sits alone during Kevin McCarthy's battle to become House Speaker Photo: Screenshot

A quick clip of embattled gay Rep. George Santos (R-NY), the first gay Republican elected to the House of Representatives, has made today’s GOP drama over who will be House Speaker just a little bit sadder.

Poor Santos, who admitted to lying about his past, was sworn into Congress today as Brazil re-opens a fraud investigation into him. He was even less popular than would-be Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who failed multiple votes to gain the seat.

McCarthy refused to condemn Santos after his shady past was revealed; Santos voted for McCarthy to be Speaker.

After being elected to represent New York’s Third Congressional District and becoming the first out gay Republican elected to Congress, Santos’ life story came crumbling down as several newspapers reported he never went to the colleges he said he attended, never worked for the major banks he said he worked for, and that he had been lying about his family history as well. He has admitted to many of these lies, calling them “a little bit of fluff” on his resume.

Prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro believe that Santos stole a checkbook in 2008 and used it to spend $700 while using a fake name at a clothing store in Niterói, Brazil. Santos was charged with embezzlement in 2011 but court records in Brazil show that the charge was “archived” because court summons went unanswered and authorities didn’t know where Santos was.

His ex-boyfriend, Pedro Vilarva, said that, while they lived together, he paid many bills for Santos. He suspects that Santos stole and pawned his phone for cash. After finding online proof that Santos had faced legal charges in Brazil for forging checks belonging to his mother’s client, Vilarva packed all of his belongings into trash bags and moved out. Santos has since denied any wrongdoing, though Brazilian records show he admitted to the check forging at the time.

But Vilarva wasn’t the last to walk away from Santos. His Republican colleagues also kept their distance. And Twitter loved every single solitary second.

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