Disgraced former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., insists he has “accepted full responsibility” for a series of fraudulent schemes despite a “social media blitz” that federal prosecutors said suggested otherwise.
Prosecutors repeated their request for a prison term of more than seven years when Santos is sentenced Friday, saying his recent social media posts show the 35-year-old Santos “remains unrepentant for his crimes.”
Santos, in a letter to the judge Tuesday, said he can be both “profoundly sorry” and upset by the Justice Department’s recommendation of a lengthy prison sentence.
“But saying I’m sorry doesn’t require me to sit quietly while these prosecutors try to drop an anvil on my head. True remorse isn’t mute; it is aware of itself, and it speaks up when the penalty scale jumps into the absurd,” Santos’ letter said.
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos arrives at court in Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 19, 2024.
Stefan Jeremiah/AP, FILE
“Ironically, the same political ambition that underpinned my own wrongdoing now seems to fuel the government’s overreach in this case,” hew wrote. “You’d think they might have learned something from the very person they chose to prosecute so vehemently!”
Santos included a selective chart to suggest the government’s sentencing recommendation is out of step with other political prosecutions, citing former Illinois Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. being sentenced to 30 months for misusing $750,000 in campaign funds or ex-New York Rep. Michael Grimm being sentenced to eight months for concealing $900,000 in wages and taxes.
Prosecutors alleged Santos, with the help of former Campaign Treasurer Nancy Marks, falsified Federal Election Commission filings, fabricating donor contributions and inflating fundraising totals to meet the $250,000 threshold required to join the National Republican Congressional Committee’s coveted “Young Guns” program. Marks pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing in June.
When informed he hadn’t reached the NRCC benchmark, Santos texted an associate, “We are going to do this a little differently. I got it.”
The “different” approach included submitting fake donations attributed to family members, fictitious individuals and even identities stolen from elderly supporters, according to the filing.
Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in August 2024. He had already been expelled from Congress in December 2023.
