George Santos' latest doozy: Records show his mom wasn't in NYC on 9/11

Newly obtained documents from the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services show that U.S. Rep. George Santos’ mother, Fatima A.C.H. Devolder, was not in the World Trade Center during the terrorist attacks on 9/11, as he has claimed.

The Forward reviewed more than 90 pages of Santos’ mother’s immigration paperwork, from 1988 to 2012. The records confirm previous news reports that the congressman lied about key aspects of his family history, and reveal new details about his story. The idea that his mother survived the 9/11 attacks is one of several instances in which Santos has falsely claimed connections to tragic events.

Santos’ troubles began in December, when The New York Times revealed that the newly elected congressman fabricated large swaths of his resume. Shortly after, the Forward broke the story that those lies included the prominent claim on his campaign website that his grandparents had fled anti-Jewish persecution in Belgium and then Ukraine before World War II. In fact, his grandparents were born in Brazil in 1927 and 1918.

Since then, stories of deceit and criminality have become daily media fodder. Allegations include campaign finance law violations to stealing a former roommate’s scarf. Prosecutors in Queens and Long Island are investigating whether any of the lies violated the law, and local Republicans are among those who have called for his immediate resignation. But House Republican leaders have resisted those calls, and on Tuesday announced he would serve on two House committees: Small Business and Science, Space and Technology.