New York — NEW YORK (AP) — A former U.S. Rep. has been released from prison where he was serving a sentence for stealing from his campaign donors. George Santos He says he’s humbled by his experience behind bars, but he’s not concerned about the “pearl fist” faced by his critics who have been upset by President Donald Trump. I granted him clemency.
“I’m pretty confident if President Trump had pardoned Jesus Christ on the cross, he would have had critics,” Santos said Sunday in an interview with CNN.
Santos, who won the position after creating a fake persona as a Wall Street dealmaker, He pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft last year, and he began serving a 7-year prison sentence in July in a New Jersey prison. But Trump ordered his release on Friday after serving just 84 days. Trump called Santos a “rogue,” but said he did not deserve harsh punishment and should be given credit for voting Republican.
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Santos said he “learned a lot” and had a “very large slice of the humble pie, if not the entire pie” while in prison.
He also apologized to former voters in his New York congressional district, saying he was “in a chaotic fireball” when he committed his crimes. Santos admitted last year to defrauding donors and stealing the identities of 11 people, including members of his family.
But when asked about his Republican colleagues’ dismay at Trump’s release so quickly, Santos said other acts of presidential clemency had been worse, citing the president. Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his sonHunter, charged with weapons and tax crimes.
“So, excuse me if I don’t care much about the extreme anger shown by my critics,” Santos said.
As part of his guilty plea, Santos agreed to pay restitution of $373,750 and forfeit $205,003. But Trump’s clemency order appears to absolve him from paying any fines or other compensation.
Santos said he was given a second chance and intends to “make amends,” but when asked if he intended to pay back donors he defrauded on the campaign trail, he said only if he had to.
“If the law requires me to, then yes. If not, then no,” Santos said.
Santos had appealed directly to Trump for help, citing his loyalty to the president’s agenda and the Republican Party in a letter published on October 13. South Shore Press. But he said on Sunday that he had no expectations and learned of the sentence reduction from fellow prisoners who watched the news on television.
Revelations that Santos invented much of his life story emerged just weeks after he became the first openly gay Republican elected to Congress in 2022.
Santos said during his election campaign that he is a successful business consultant and has a large real estate portfolio. But he eventually admitted to embellishing his resume. He never graduated from Baruch College, where he claimed to be a standout player on the Manhattan College volleyball team. He has not previously worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. He did not own property.
In fact, he was struggling financially, moved between several jobs, including one for a company accused of running a Ponzi scheme, and even faced eviction.
After becoming the sixth person to be expelled from Congress, Santos made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling personalized videos to the public on Cameo. He returned to duty on Sunday.