George Santos Gets 7 Years for Fraud Despite Tearful Plea for Mercy

Remember this guy? In a crowded field of professional liars, he is perhaps the biggest liar elected to congress, at least recently. 

Today former Rep. George Santos was handed a 78 month sentence after pleading guilty to wire fraud and identity theft last year. He tearfully begged the judge for mercy but didn’t get it. 

A federal judge in New York sentenced former Rep. George Santos to over seven years in prison Friday.

“Where is the remorse?” U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert asked Santos before sentencing him to 87 months behind bars and ordering him to almost $374,000 in restitution…

Seybert handed down the sentence after Santos made a tearful plea for mercy and acknowledged he’d “betrayed the confidence” of his constituents.

The judge did not appear moved by Santos’ sobs. She said doesn’t like sending people to jail, but Santos was “fully deserving” of the lengthy sentence.

The NY Times published an interview with Santos yesterday as he was waiting for his sentence. He seemed to know what was coming.

“Right now, my expectation is I’m going to prison for 87 months,” he said flatly when reached by phone on Wednesday. “I’m totally resigned.”…

As part of his plea, Mr. Santos admitted responsibility in court and vowed to make restitution in the amount of $373,749.97. He appeared outside the courtroom afterward, telling reporters that he took full responsibility for his actions, which were “unethical and guilty.”

But in the intervening months, Mr. Santos has struggled to maintain that penitent posture. Under pressure to repay victims and fund his defense, he has sought to monetize his infamy, beginning with personalized videos on the website Cameo. (Earlier this week, those were on sale for 67 percent off, under a banner that read “Last week on Cameo.”)

His Cameo gig probably hurt his chances of a lighter sentence. He was apparently pulling down more money there than he did from his congressional salary, and yet even after pleading guilty last August he never set aside any of that money for restitution. He’s just been living it up and laughing all the way to the bank. He also started a podcast last year where he continued to make jokes and mock the idea of contrition.

“People say, ‘Oh, he doesn’t atone.’ What does that even mean? Should I, like, curl up in a ball and stay in that fetal position forever?” Mr. Santos said in one episode.

Santos has long been a supporter of President Trump and obliquely raised the possibility of a pardon.

“The president knows my predicament. It’s not like it’s a secret,” he said in an interview. “If the president thinks I’m worthy of any level of clemency that is bestowed upon him, he can go ahead and do it, but for me to seek a pardon is to deny accountability and responsibility.”

There’s no evidence Trump has any interest in pardoning Santos and I certainly hope he doesn’t. Santos lied about literally everything and he was a crook. 

Questions about his background emerged before he even started his term. The New York Times reported that he had lied about or embellished parts of his résumé and personal history. That led to other fabrications’ being revealed, including a claim that he was Jewish. He later said he was “Jew-ish.”…

Prosecutors said he committed identity theft and swindled donors to enrich himself and live a luxurious lifestyle. Among those whose credit card information he used to make unauthorized donations were three “elderly persons suffering from some degree of cognitive impairment or decline,” prosecutors said.

He was expelled from congress by his own party even before he was convicted. He deserves his time in prison. Let him serve it.