'I'm totally resigned': 'Unrepentant' former GOP lawmaker expects to get 7 years in jail
Disgraced former New York congressman George Santos (R), who pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a case that led to his removal from Congress, is set to be sentenced on fraud charges by a federal judge later this week.
“Right now, my expectation is I’m going to prison for 87 months,” Santos told the New York Times. “I’m totally resigned," he added.
A report published in the Times Thursday noted that the combative language and sharp humor that Santos was known for was absent during this conversation. He maneuvered his way into Congress through lies, which ultimately resulted in criminal fraud charges and a guilty plea.
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The former lawmaker recently made some posts on the social platform X, criticizing the U.S. Department of Justice by labeling it a “cabal of pedophiles” and portrayed himself as a target of excessive legal actions. He is currently defending himself against this X outburst.
In a letter written ahead of the court date on Friday, Santos reportedly expressed that he is “profoundly sorry” for his offenses but insisted that the seven-year prison term being sought by prosecutors is “ridiculous."
“Every sunrise since that plea has carried the same realization: I did this, me. I am responsible,” Santos wrote. “But saying I’m sorry doesn’t require me to sit quietly while these prosecutors try to drop an anvil on my head.”
Prosecutors, in a recent filing, contended that Santos “remains unrepentant” and has not demonstrated genuine remorse.
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In the Times report Wednesday, Santos said, “I came to this world alone. I will deal with it alone, and I will go out alone."
The report also mentioned that in December, he launched his podcast, “Pants on Fire,” with the title playfully referencing Santos’s fabrications regarding his education, career history, and volleyball achievements. At the podcast launch party, he sported a pair of shiny Ferragamo sneakers and humorously likened the small media gathering to the intense coverage of Princess Diana’s trips to New York, per the report.
Santos said he would not seek a presidential pardon. When asked in an interview last year if President Donald Trump should grant him a presidential pardon, he said, “Do you really think that that’s the message President Trump’s going to want to send to the country? Oh, let me go in and start pardoning my people who align with me’. It’s a horrible message.”
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