George Santos became a punch line to an unfortunate joke before his career on Capitol Hill even began. In December 2022, just weeks before he was sworn in as a member of Congress, the New York Republican was exposed as a prolific liar, having created a detailed personal narrative that bore no resemblance to reality.
But it wasn’t long before Santos’ troubles grew considerably worse: The GOP politician wasn’t just a fabulist, he was also a criminal. Five months into his congressional career, the Justice Department charged the then-congressman with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. Soon after, prosecutors filed additional charges against Santos, accusing him of, among other things, identity theft and charging a supporter’s credit card and then transferring the money to his personal bank account.
He was ultimately expelled from Congress — a rarity in American history — and though Santos initially pleaded not guilty and professed his innocence, the case against him ultimately proved overwhelming. Last summer, as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, the former congressman pleaded guilty to two counts — wire fraud and aggravated identity theft — and agreed to pay restitution.
And now he’s going to prison. NBC News reported:
A federal judge in New York sentenced former Rep. George Santos to over seven years in prison Friday. Prosecutors had urged U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert to throw the book at Santos, the disgraced former Republican congressman, to “reflect the seriousness of Santos’s unparalleled crimes.”
The sentence was entirely in line with expectations. Indeed, the night before he was sentenced, Santos told The New York Times, “Right now, my expectation is I’m going to prison for 87 months. I’m totally resigned.”
The developments would appear to bring this sad saga to an end, though there’s still some question about a possible presidential pardon. Earlier this month, for example, Santos responded to a question about whether he planned to ask Donald Trump for a pardon, and the disgraced former lawmaker said, “You bet your sweet a– I would.”
Indeed, the night before sentencing, Santos appeared on a conservative media outlet called OANN, where former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz asked about the prospect of a presidential rescue.
“I haven’t petitioned the president for a pardon,” Santos said. “A lot of people keep asking me this, but obviously, if the president were to extend one, I’d be humbly grateful, because he’d be taking a major weight off my back.” He added, “But again, I hope — hope’s the last to die — like, I can hope for many things, and I do hope that hopefully he takes a look at me, too.” Trump hasn’t made any public comments of late about Santos’ scandals, though as we were reminded again this week, the incumbent president has repeatedly come to the aid of former Republican congressmen convicted of corruption. Watch this space. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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