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George Santos consulting with genealogist to prove his grandparents fled the Holocaust

“That’s something I’m gonna prove before I die,” Santos said in an interview with CNN on Sunday

Senior Culture Editor

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Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club on Wednesday, January 25, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club on Wednesday, January 25, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

During an interview with CNN’s Manu Raju on Sunday, George Santos said that he's been consulting with a genealogist for ten months to gain concrete evidence for claims he's made that his grandparents fled the Holocaust.

Hoping to obtain the documentation he's seeking before he dies, Santos said the process has been taking a lot of time because Ukraine is in the middle of a war and that's where his grandfather is from.

“I'm working on finishing getting the last pieces of it,” he said. “Specifically the piece where they go to Brazil and then have documents forged. Once I have everything ready, I will allow the same company hired to submit the report to the press with glee.”

Touching upon confusion over whether or not he himself is Jewish, Santos went on to say, "I never said I was Jewish. I would always joke for years saying I was ‘Jew-ish.’ I was raised Roman Catholic. Everybody thought it was funny.” An interview with Piers Morgan conducted earlier this year backs that, with Santos telling him, "It’s always been a party-favor joke, everybody’s always laughed, and now that everybody’s canceling me, everyone’s pounding down for a pound of flesh.” To which Morgan responded, “Because you’re not Jewish!”

 

 

 

By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Senior Culture Editor, where she helps further coverage of TV, film, music, books and culture trends from a unique and thoughtful angle. Her work has also appeared in Vulture, Vanity Fair, Vice and many other outlets that don't start with the letter V. She is the author of one sad book called "Something Is Always Happening Somewhere." Follow her on Bluesky: @WolfieVibes

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