For some reason, what appears to be the official — as opposed to personal — Twitter account for George Santos, the controversial Republican Congressman from New York who lied about a whopping variety of subjects, was suspended on Friday. It’s unclear why.
The suspended account had a gray checkmark used on Twitter for the verification of accounts belonging to government figures, although Twitter has seen infamous difficulties in securing the verification process with billionaire Elon Musk newly in charge. Repeatedly, a reporter with The Washington Post was able to create a verified account in the name of Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), despite not being the Senator. Even after an initial burst of faked accounts and subsequent talk of locking down the verification process, the reporter had to wait a bit, but that was roughly it. The faked account (created with permission) still went up. As for Santos, the official accounts associated with other government figures have sometimes been suspended. His personal account remained active Friday.
On that account, Santos denied reports he previously dressed in drag, despite photographic evidence that looks a lot like the Congressman, and denied he was responsible for a veteran missing out on the proceeds from a GoFundMe fundraiser supporting his dying dog. Two veterans were connected some years ago through an individual who was reportedly a mutual friend with Santos, whose dubious claims about his past also include involvement in charity work supporting animals. (He claimed his charity was a tax-exempt group, but the IRS found no such record.) Rich Osthoff, the veteran whose dog was in need, provided copious details of what happened to CNN, and the outlet also made text exchanges apparently involving Santos, who was then going by Anthony Devolder, available. Santos sought tight control over the funds ostensibly raised for Osthoff’s dog to the point of directing the veteran visit specific veterinary providers.
One of the texts evidently from Santos shows the eventual Congressman pushing back on Osthoff even joining the dog at the vet for what would apparently be an ultrasound that Santos seemingly also questioned would lead to anything substantive. What was Santos going to do? Hide details shared by the veterinary staff from Osthoff to help excuse keeping the funds? This all took place in 2016. Santos would have more credibility in his denials if he hadn’t lied about his work experience, educational background, and family history. He claimed he had grandparents who died in the Holocaust and that his mother died in at least some connection to 9/11. There is no evidence the grandparents were even born in Europe, and available details evidently indicate his late mother wasn’t even in the United States during the 9/11 attacks.
George Santos’ official government Twitter account has been suspended. pic.twitter.com/8IcajIs6Hn
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) January 20, 2023
