House Rep. George Santos reportedly dressed as a drag queen named "Kitara" when he lived in Brazil more than a decade ago, as more shocking details continue to emerge about his convoluted identity. The shocking photos emerged online on Wednesday as calls for the embattled freshman congressman's resignation continue to grow.
Santos has come under increasing pressure to quit as facts of his past unravel since he acknowledged last month to lying about his educational and professional credentials. Santos is also wanted by Brazilian authorities and his apparent accumulation of massive wealth in recent years has also raised questions about his past.
A Different Life
According to a report by journalist Marisa Kabas from the Substack site "The Handbasket," Santos, who is said to have used a variety of identities in his truth-challenged past, appears to be seen in a photo from 2008 wearing a drag costume.
Eula Rochard, a drag performer in Brazil and a former acquaintance of Santos, gave Kabas the most recent glimpse into Santos' youth. According to the article, Santos and Rochard first met while Rochard was already well-known as a drag queen in a Brazilian city close to Rio de Janeiro.
Santos, who Rochard claims is on the right of the picture, appears to be wearing a strapless red top or dress and has longer brown hair.
"I think I met him when he was around 16 or 17 years old," she said of Santos, who used to go by Anthony back then. "He used to hang out in my house while his mom was playing Bingo."
Santos appears to be sporting at least some makeup on his face despite the image's graininess.
The report states that Rochard remembered Santos using the name "Anthony" rather than "George" at the time. When she first met Santos, she claimed to be in her late teens.
The congressman's full name is Anthony George Devolder Santos. According to reports, Santos has gone by the names Anthony Devolder and Anthony Zabrovsky.
Santos allegedly conned a disabled veteran out of charity funds to save his dying dog by posing as Anthony Devolder. Homeless Navy veteran Rich Osthoff told CNN he was attracted to Santos as someone who had experience saving animals when his guide dog, a pit bull named Sapphire, had a tumor.
Santos allegedly set up a GoFundMe page for the puppy. But once he had raised $3,000, it was said that he grew elusive and eventually vanished with the money. The dog passed away.
Santos and His Innumerable Lies
Speaking to Kabas, Rochard revealed that she recently saw Santos on Brazilian television and messaged her friends from the time she knew Santos to let them know she thought it was him. She searched and found the old photograph and posted it on Instagram after her friends began to suspect her.
"The picture was taken in 2008 at the Pride Parade at Icarai Beach in Niteroi," she told Kabas. "George had disappeared for a little while, and then returned to Brazil with a lot of money, and that was about the same time when the picture was taken."
According to the report, Rochard said that Santos had never been a professional drag performer. "He did not have what it takes to be a professional," she reportedly said. "George did not have the glamour for that."
However, she claimed that Santos "lied about everything."
"He used to create stories, usually involving money – like that his dad was rich," she recounted to Kabas. "But then people wondered why his mom was a cleaning lady. There's nothing wrong with being a cleaning lady, but if his dad was rich, why then?"
The freshman congressman became a national laughing stock after being exposed for a series of lies regarding his college background, career history, and Jewish origin, among other tall tales that keep adding up.
A stunning New York Times exposé shortly before the start of his first term in government essentially disproved the personal narrative he had used during the campaign.
Local, state, and federal officials are looking into the lawmaker's extensive litany of lies and his apparent wealth in recent years and the $700,000 of his own money that he loaned to his campaign. Santos is also wanted by Brazilian authorities.
Santos, the first openly gay Republican elected to the House who is not an incumbent, has defied calls for him to step down.
