Republican George Santos under scrutiny over CV claims

A newly-elected Republican congressman is facing allegations his CV is inaccurate after reports claimed it contained several discrepancies.

George Santos, who was elected in New York, is accused of misrepresenting his education and employment history.

The allegation was first made in a New York Times report but has since been corroborated by other outlets.

A lawyer for Mr Santos hit back at the claims, describing them as "defamatory" and a "shotgun blast of attacks".

"George Santos represents the kind of progress that the Left is so threatened by - a gay, Latino first generation American and Republican," Joseph Murray said in a statement.

"It is no surprise that Congressman-elect Santos has enemies at the New York Times who are attempting to smear his good name," he said.

The statement, posted on Twitter on Monday, did not address any of the alleged inconsistencies in Mr Santos's biography directly.

The initial New York Times report indicated key parts were either contradicted or not supported by evidence. He claimed during his campaign that he had worked at high-profile Wall Street firms Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and had received his education at New York City's Baruch College.

But when contacted by the newspaper, and later other outlets including CNN and NPR, these entities found no record of the 34-year-old.

Mr Santos also issued campaign statements in favour of landlords and claimed his family was being shirked by renters during the pandemic, but his financial disclosure forms reportedly did not list any properties in his possession.

In his financial disclosure forms this year, he reportedly listed his salary as $750,000 (£617,000) and said it was paid by the Devolder Organization. There is little public detail about the company, which is registered in Florida and was recently deemed "inactive".

The BBC has reached out to Mr Santos for comment.

He did not respond to repeated requests to provide documents that would support the claims he made while campaigning, according to the New York Times.

Mr Santos, along with the rest of the incoming class of Congress, is set to be sworn in on 3 January.

If true, any gaps in his financial, employment, and educational records could land him in the crosshairs of the House Ethics Committee, a bipartisan panel that investigates potential rule violations by lawmakers.

The committee has declined to comment at this time.