Throughout the years, I’ve learnt that politicians can lie. These lies can be minor or they can be monumental. When you’re involved in politics, there’s a certain level of transparency that is required, so don’t be surprised if you get outed.

If I wasn’t clear enough, lies will not get you anywhere in life. Especially not in politics. Which brings me to Representative George Santos. How can a man with such a public role in the government play it fast-and-loose with his reputation by spouting so many lies? This man has lied about his net worth, his education and even where his family is from.

The media has been focusing on Santos since the New York Times published an exposé on the New York politician. However, the North Shore Leader, a small, local newspaper in Long Island, uncovered Santos’ questionable career while he was running for the representative position long before the Times even had an idea of Santos’ lies. The New York Times article got peoples’ attention, but it was already too late and Santos had secured his position as a representative.

Elected on Nov. 8, 2022, Santos is a U.S. representative for New York’s 3rd congressional district. Santos has been able to hold his position as New York representative, but at what cost?

Santos is a philanthropist, or so he says. He allegedly founded the company Friends of Pets United, and then proceeded to cite the company as an example of his philanthropic work during his candidacy for New York congressman. However, neither the New York nor the New Jersey attorney general’s offices could find any remnants of the charity. It seems like Friends of Pets United functioned more as a charity for Santos’ personal financial needs than of the alleged company itself.

Santos has also claimed to be the sole owner and managing member of the Devolder Organization. Devolder was vaguely described as a “capital introduction consulting firm” in one of Santos’ disclosures, leaving many to question the legitimacy of the company. The company was based in New York, however it was registered in Florida. According to Santos, Devolder provided him with a salary of $750,000 and he earned dividends from the company totaling somewhere between $1 million and $5 million.

With the funds that he was receiving from the Devolver Organization, Santos lived an extravagant lifestyle. He was able to purchase shirts from Brooks Brothers for his employees, as well as splurging on lunch at Bergdorf Goodman’s 7th floor restaurant, courtesy of his campaign funds, of course. Santos doesn’t seem to grasp how detrimental his lifestyle is, especially if he doesn’t actually have the funds. The media came down on Santos for his extensive spending.

However, the big spender also had some big skeletons in his closet. Santos is the first openly gay Republican congressman, and unfortunately, this comes with more probing into his past. Reuters revealed that Santos had competed as a drag queen in Brazilian beauty pageants 15 years ago. A former drag queen who had befriended Santos in 2005, Eula Rochard, confirmed that the congressman had performed as a drag queen in Brazil.

At first, Santos adamantly denied these allegations, however, he later admitted that he had performed in drag at just one festival. Although Santos has stated that he’s comfortable in his sexual identity and will always be an advocate for LGBTQ people, his denial of performing in drag shows that his right-wing political ideas dominate his morals. Santos aligns with more traditional, conservative ideals, sometimes misrepresenting the groups that he’s aiming to protect.

All of Santos’ lies finally led to a House Ethics Committee investigation. The Committee has created a subcommittee to run the investigation, focusing on whether Santos engaged in unlawful activity, as well as investigating sexual misconduct allegations. Honestly, I’m shocked that the Committee didn’t start this investigation sooner. It’s clear that Santos has lied about almost every aspect of his life, and who’s to say that he won’t keep lying?

Recently, Santos was spotted at a rally in Manhattan to protest the Manhattan district attorney bringing up a criminal case against former president Donald Trump. Santos has been a longtime supporter of Trump, and Santos is closely aligned with the New York Young Republicans Club, which was the conservative group holding the Trump support rally. White nationalists and right-wing conspiracy theorists are members of the conservative group. This membership should tell you where Santos lies on the political spectrum.

Lying is bad. It’s not going to get you anywhere in life. Santos is the exception, making it all the way to Congress before getting called-out on his lies. It’s impressive how many people he’s been able to fool with his lies, but it’s his time to go now.