Thurs: That's Funny. He Doesn't Look Jew-ish

That's Funny. He Doesn't Look Jew-ish

Graduated From Baruch College

Santos claimed he graduated from New York's Baruch College in 2010 with a degree in economics and finance. However, when contacted by the New York Times the college could find no record of Santos ever having attended as a student.

Speaking to the New York Post on Monday Santos admitted he didn't graduate from Baruch, commenting: "I didn't graduate from any institution of higher learning. I'm embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my résumé."

Worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup
After leaving college Santos said he went to work for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, two of the most prestigious banks on Wall Street. But when the New York Times got in touch neither company said there was any record of him having worked for them.

During his New York Post interview Santos admitted he "never worked directly" for either company, claiming he instead did business with them while working for a company called Link Bridge. He described his original claim as a "poor choice of words."

Family-owned Real Estate Portfolio of 13 Properties

In February 2021 Santos claimed "my family and I" had not received any rent for nearly a year on 13 properties they owned, asking: "Will we landlords ever be able to take back possession of our property?"

He later admitted to the New York Post that he doesn't own any properties and is currently living with his sister.

Descendant of Holocaust Survivors

On his campaign website Santos said his mother, Fatima Devolder, was the descendant of refugees who "fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium, and again fled persecution during WWII."

Santos also described himself as the "grandson of Holocaust refugees," in a 2020 post on Twitter.

However, an investigation by The Forward found government documents indicating Santos' maternal grandparents were born in Brazil prior to WWII.

Speaking to CNN, genealogist Megan Smolenyak said: "There's no sign of Jewish and/or Ukrainian heritage and no indication of name changes along the way."

Responding to the claim, Santos told the New York Post he had described himself as "Jew-ish," rather than "Jewish."

He said: "I never claimed to be Jewish. I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was 'Jew-ish.'"

First Openly Gay Republican Elected to Congress

Santos is the "first openly-gay Republican elected to Congress," according to his official website.

However, a Daily Beast investigation found Santos had previously been married to a woman between 2012 and 2017, which he did not publicly disclose.

Santos confirmed this to the New York Post, but insisted he is "very much gay."

He said: "I dated women in the past. I married a woman. It's personal stuff.

"I'm very much gay. I'm OK with my sexuality. People change. I'm one of those people who change."

Santos claims he is now married to a man, though no records have been found substantiating this. Newsweek has contacted Santos asking for evidence of his marital status.

Biracial

In July 2020 Santos described himself as a "biracial person" on Twitter.

Asked to clarify, he claimed to be "Caucasian and black."

Santos has not provided details of his Black ancestry, and it is unclear where he believes this fits in. Newsweek has contacted the incoming GOP Congressman for clarification.

Mother Killed on 9/11

In July 2021 Santos said "9/11 claimed my mothers life" during a Twitter discussion.

However, the following December he contradicted this in a Twitter post when he said his mother had died on December 23, 2016.

He wrote: "December 23rd this year marks 5 years I lost my best friend and mentor. Mom you will live forever in my heart."

A digital obituary published on the Dignity Memorial website confirms Fatima Devolder passed away on December 23, 2016.

Santos' website says his mother "was in her office in the South Tower on September 11, 2001, when the horrific events of that day unfolded," but survived the attack and died of cancer "a few years later."

Brain tumor
On March 30, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, an interview with Santos was published on YouTube titled "George Santos: A Corona Story."

In the video Santos tells two men, one wearing a "Guns and Freedom" hat and the other seated by a "Don't Tread on Me" flag, that he had "battled a brain tumor."

Discussing his health Santos said: "I have an immunodeficiency and I also have acute chronic bronchitis. I also battled a brain tumor a couple of years ago and I had radiation done which really lowers your immunity in general."

Newsweek has been unable to find any other record of Santos discussing a brain tumor and has reached out to the GOP politician for clarification.

Lost four employees in Pulse nightclub massacre

During an interview with WNYC Santos claimed four "people that work for me" were killed during the June 2016 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, which left 49 dead.

However, the New York Times couldn't find any evidence linking any of the Pulse shooting victims with companies Santos claimed he owned. Newsweek has asked the New York Republican for clarification.

Charitable foundation

Santos said he founded a tax-exempt animal rights group, Friends of Pets United, which rescued more than 2,500 cats and dogs.

But no records relating to the group's charitable status could be found by the IRS, nor could either the New York or New Jersey attorney general's offices uncover documentation confirming Friends of Pets United had been registered as a charity.

He's Just a Con Man

Federal prosecutors in New York are launching an investigation into Rep.-elect George Santos after revelations that the incoming Republican congressman lied about key parts of his biography on the campaign trail, according to reports.

According to CNN and the New York Times, the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York is looking into Santos’ finances. According to the Times, the investigation is said to be in its early stages.

Maybe they’ll look into how he allegedly defrauded Saint Rita’s Catholic Church, in Long Island City, Queens after his mother’s second death. Yes, second death. In one timeline he tweeted, “9/11 claimed my mothers life.” Another time he said that she died a few years after 9/11. Her documented death, though, was in 2016. At least that’s when Saint Rita’s picked up the tab for the funeral after Santos told the pastor the family could afford it. Father Jose Carlos da Silva told CBS that the church held a collection during the memorial mass and that “he didn’t count the money collected, but recalled that the amount raised was significant, and that he handed the collection directly to Santos.”

That’s the most special of them all, scamming his family’s congregation after his mother’s real death. But wait, there’s more. On Wednesday, more of Santos’s bizarre claims came to light.

Slay These Words and Phrases

For the last couple years, I’ve compiled lists of words (“woke,” “post-pandemic”) and phrases (“it is what it is,” “now more than ever,” etc.) to kill off as the calendar turns — and it’s been 100% successful, they’ve completely disappeared, yay us! Keep up the good work and stop using the following atrocities too

We come to bury these words, not to praise them.

"Slay.” A few years ago, Beyoncé said “slay,” so we slayed.

Unfortunately, she didn’t say when to stop. 2022 Google lookups of “slay” were higher than ever.

Now, through grievous overuse, the word has lost all meaning. Literally, all: One of the most popular definitions of “slay” on Urban Dictionary — a crowdsourced slang reference guide that’s surprisingly effective at capturing our lexicon in the moment — is a circularly referential nightmare: “slay: literally just slay. it can can [sic] be whatever u want it to be xx.” Urban Dictionary’s nonsense (but accurate) usage example reads, in its entirety: “omg slay.”

Omg stop. Please.

Omg!? That “word” needs to go, as well.

From a Ukrainian Gunner Near Kreminna

"They send freshly mobilized soldiers to certain death. If they manage to break through, more experienced troops come in.... They are just coming to die."

Natural Selection at Work

Three people were killed when they tried to take a photo on a frozen lake in Arizona and fell through the ice, according to authorities.

Deputies responded to a report Monday afternoon of two men and one woman who were walking on a frozen lake and fell through the ice, according to the Coconino County Sheriff's Office.

The three victims were with five others at the lake at the time, sheriff's office spokesman Jon Paxton told ABC News.

The victims had been trying to take a photo on the ice and were about 25 to 35 yards from shore when they fell in, he said.

Can You Play Texas Hold'em in Texas?

Dallas must decide whether or not to spend $600,000 in its legal fight against poker businesses.

The City Council will vote next month whether or not to increase the money for lawsuits aimed at shutting down two poker businesses, Texas Card House and Shuffle 214.

The money’s use will be twofold: seeking a court order upholding Dallas Chief Building Official Andrew Espinoza’s decision to revoke the businesses’ certificates of occupancy; and defending the Board of Adjustment’s ruling that allows the poker clubs to stay open.

The suits are against the city’s Board of Adjustment for reversing the revoked certificates of occupancy as well as the two poker businesses. Texas Card House and Shuffle 214 have their own legal representation.

City officials say they allowed the poker businesses to open in Dallas as of 2020, believing a gray area in Texas’ law against gambling allowed them to be legal. But after reexamining the law the next year, the city reversed its stance on poker businesses, deemed the three active operators in Dallas illegal, revoked their city-issued certificates of occupancy and blocked others seeking one.