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Former congressman George Santos, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft last year, is hoping President Donald Trump bestows some form of clemency to keep him from serving seven years in federal prison.
Last month, a federal judge in New York sentenced Santos to 87 months in prison for his crimes, believing the former congressman had no remorse for the campaign donors and voters he lied to and swindled out of money.
On Thursday, Santos appeared teary-eyed and lethargic on Piers Morgan Uncensored to make his plea to the president.
“Previously, I was not entertaining a pardon because I didn’t know what my judgment would be. Now, I am in the process of filling an application to a pardon for the president. I’ll take a commutation, a clemency, whatever the president is willing to give me,” Santos said.
The former congressman, who was ousted by his colleagues following a damning House Ethics Report in December 2023, said he believes the judge’s sentence was “over the top” for a first time offender.
Taking a page from Trump’s book, he asserted that former attorney general Merrick Garland had been unfair in leading the Justice Department, and the case against him was politically motivated.
“I do believe this is an unfair judgment handed down to me. There was a lot of politicization over the process,” Santos said.
The Independent has asked Santos for further comment.
Federal prosecutors brought a series of charges against Santos in 2023, alleging he engaged in several schemes to pocket money from political donors and government assistance programs to enrich himself as he sought a seat representing New York’s 3rd congressional district.
Santos had gone from relative obscurity to an overnight headline-maker in a series of months after reports accused him of fabricating education and work experience on his resume, lying about his mother’s whereabouts on September 11, 2001, misrepresenting himself as being Jewish, misleading people about running a dog charity and more.
Now, Santos believes his bad actions could be used in the country’s benefit to “sniff out other bad actors.”
“Who better, Piers, and President Trump – I hope he would agree, to be able to sniff out other bad actors doing similar actions that I did. I mean, I understand that I could help, I can be an asset for the country and I want to use that for the good,” Santos said.
Last August, Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft to avoid a federal criminal trial. He also admitted to a series of other wrongdoings, including lying to Congress and fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits.
But since pleading guilty, Santos had taken to social media to capitalize on his name recognition and dispute prosecutors’ claims.
His defiance against federal prosecutors ultimately cemented his harsh punishment.
Santos believes it was unnecessarily harsh, tearfully telling Morgan that it would impact his family’s routine, force him to miss crucial life events and potentially put him at risk of serious injury.
“President Trump, I’d appreciate if you could give me a consideration. I’m not an altar boy, I’m not pretending to be one. But I’m not a hardened criminal who deserves to be in prison for seven years off of what I would call ambitious mistakes and it’s something that I deeply regret,” Santos said.
English (US) ·