Disgraced Politician George Santos Just Got 87 Months in Prison and Literally No One Is Surprised
Former Representative George Santos is paying the price for his lies and fraud. The disgraced Republican politician spent years in the spotlight and seemed to revel in even the most negative attention. Santos’s spectacular fall from grace started shortly after voters elected him to the House of Representatives. He flipped a Democratic House seat to Republican helping to give Republicans a thin majority in the house. Now, his legacy will be one of lies and deceit.
A judge sentenced former Representative George Santos to 87 months in federal prison
George Santos, seen in the above video calling a protester “human scum” in 2023, is going to federal prison. His journey here is one for the history books. U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert sentenced him to 87 months in federal prison for aggravated identity theft and wire fraud charges. Santos committed the crimes during his 2022 campaign during the midterms.
Santos sobbed in front of the judge and begged for mercy before being sentenced, according to various reports. Despite his tearful pleas, Judge Seybert delivered a lengthy sentence at the urging of prosecutors. Additionally, the judge orders Santos to pay restitution of $373,000.
“From his creation of a wholly fictitious biography to his callous theft of money from elderly and impaired donors, Santos’s unrestrained greed and voracious appetite for fame enabled him to exploit the very system by which we select our representatives,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum, according to NBC News.
Prosecutors added that his tearful attempt at remorse comes from a “pathological liar.” Judge Seybert seems to agree with prosecutors calling Santos both an “arrogant fraudster” and “fully deserving” of the harsh sentence.
The former politician only has himself to blame for the outcome
Prosecutors painted a picture of a man lacking remorse and moral clarity. Prosecutors included Santos’s newly-launched podcast as proof that his grifting days are not over. The podcast, titled “Pants on Fire,” is a clear example of his attempt to continue to turn lies into financial opportunities.
Voters elected Santos to Congress in 2022. His public life was consumed with accusations of impropriety immediately after his election. Originally, the dishonesty was focused on Santos’s padded and fabricated résumé. He even claimed to be Jewish and tried clarifying to say he was “Jew-ish.”
The more time he spent in the public eye, the more his financial misdeeds came to light. Investigations discovered that Santos used campaign funds for an OnlyFans subscription, vacations, luxury goods, and cosmetic procedures.
With mounting misdeeds and public outrage, members of the House of Representatives voted to expel Santos in December 2023. Santos is the sixth person ever expelled from the House of Representatives. The rare move was a strong condemnation from Santos’s colleagues in the House.
It took three votes to expel Santos from the House and the successful attempt was aided by a House Ethics Committee report finding misuse of campaign funds and other examples of fraud. Republicans and Democrats united to oust the disgraced politician with 311 votes in favor of expulsion, 114 voting against, and two people voting present.
