When George Santos mentioned his family during his congressional campaign, the New York Republican often reflected on the work ethic and strength of his mother, Fatima Devolder, and how she survived the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, where she was working that day.

But as the representative-elect has come under increasing pressure to explain himself after it was revealed that he lied about his business experience, education and family ancestry, Santos is now facing questions about what appear to be conflicting accounts of his mother’s death.

In two 2021 tweets from Santos that were first reported by journalist Yashar Ali late Wednesday, the Republican suggests that Devolder died at different times. In July 2021, Santos replied to a Twitter account titled, “9/11 was a victimless crime.”

“9/11 claimed my mothers life . . . so I’m blocking so I don’t ever have to read this again,” Santos wrote.

Last December, Santos tweeted to reflect on the five-year anniversary of his mother’s passing in 2016.

“December 23rd this year marks 5 years I lost my best friend and mentor,” he wrote. “Mom you will live forever in my heart.”

On his campaign website, Santos’s team acknowledged that while “George’s mother was in her office in the South Tower on September 11, 2001, when the horrific events of that day unfolded,” she was not among the more than 2,700 people killed at the World Trade Center.

“She survived the tragic events on September 11th, but she passed away a few years later when she lost her battle to cancer,” the campaign website reads.

A short obituary for Devolder confirmed that she died on Dec. 23, 2016, one day after she celebrated her 54th birthday. The obituary incorrectly states that she was 64.

While many first responders and people around Ground Zero later developed health problems due to exposure to the contaminated air, including cancer, critics were quick to draw attention to the latest inconsistency in Santos’s personal story, as well as point out how 15 years was more than “a few years later.”

“This guy has to be an op,” Ali tweeted. “My god.”

Santos’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Thursday.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly (R) on Wednesday announced she was opening an investigation into Santos for “the numerous fabrications and inconsistencies associated” with Santos that “are nothing short of stunning.”

The attention on the Republican followed an explosive New York Times story on Dec. 19 that detailed the repeated lies Santos told about his background. Among the items called into question were whether he ever worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, who said they have no record of his employment; whether he attended the prep school he claimed to have gone to; and whether he graduated from college.

He also pushed an unsupported claim that four of his employees were killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016. Santos later said to WABC that the four people “were going to be coming to work” at his company. And despite previous public comments about his Jewish heritage, he later told the New York Post that he never claimed to be Jewish. Instead, he said he referred to himself as “Jew-ish.”

Even after he acknowledged in interviews this week – including a contentious segment with former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard on Fox News – what he described as “résumé embellishment” Santos said that he’s not a criminal and intends to serve in Congress.

Santos was viewed as an unlikely Republican success story in November when he won an open congressional seat on Long Island held by a Democrat. The victory thrust Santos into unchartered territory for the GOP, becoming the first non-incumbent who is an openly gay Republican to be elected to Congress.

But when the Times story published last week, Santos faced immediate calls to not be seated in the new Congress on Jan. 3. While it is likely he will be seated, Santos still could face ethics and other investigations. The House could also technically expel him if two-thirds of members agree to do so.

Born on Dec. 22, 1962, in Rio de Janeiro, Santos’s mother immigrated with her family to the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens and “gave up everything to provide for George and her family,” according to the Santos campaign’s website. Devolder was described by the Times as having worked as a housekeeper.

“George’s drive, commitment and determination were inspired by the legacy set and left by his mother,” the campaign website reads. “She delivered the American Dream to George, a debt that he wants to repay to the rest of his neighbors and constituents.”

As of 2021, at least 4,627 responders and survivors who enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have died. While not all of the deaths can be attributed to conditions linked to Ground Zero exposures, researchers have identified more than 60 types of cancer as well as roughly two dozen other conditions linked to Ground Zero exposures, according to the Scientific American.

After the past tweets from Santos about Devolder’s death were resurfaced, the representative-elect was faced with fresh criticism from Democrats. Among them was Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who tweeted a list of the fabrications Santos has been linked to in recent days.

“Am I missing anything?” he asked.

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The Washington Post’s Azi Paybarah and Aaron Blake contributed to this report.

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