
George Santos has asked President Trump for a pardon.
“This is the hardest statement I have ever written,” wrote the disgraced gay former congressman on X Friday evening. Santos was sentenced to more than seven years in prison on Friday for defrauding Congress, voters, and his supporters.
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Gay GOP former Rep. George Santos sentenced to 7 years in prison for fraud
A lack of remorse prompted prosecutors to ask for the maximum sentence; the judge in the case agreed.
Santos’ crimes included wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, and multiple other schemes betraying the trust of the public and his constituents.
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The pardon plea was a reversal for the 36-year-old convicted felon, who said in multiple interviews before his sentencing that he wouldn’t stoop to begging for clemency.
And then he did just that.
“I write this humbled, chastened, and fully accountable for choices that shattered the faith so many placed in me,” Santos wrote before his live fashion coverage of the White House Correspondents Dinner (WHCD) Saturday night. “I betrayed the confidence entrusted to me by many. For that, I offer my deepest apology.”
This is the hardest statement I have ever written. I write this humbled, chastened, and fully accountable for choices that shattered the faith so many placed in me. I betrayed the confidence entrusted to me by many. For that, I offer my deepest apology.
— Pants On Fire with George Santos (@MrSantosNY) April 26, 2025
When I pled guilty, I did…
“When I pled [sic] guilty, I did so without reservation,” Santos continued. “I said then, and I repeat now, that my conduct betrayed my supporters and diminished the institution I was privileged to serve.”
Now, however, Santos is questioning the wisdom of his full-throated courtroom mea culpa.
“Those words have weighed on me every day since,” Santos said, betraying regret that his absolute admission of guilt didn’t sway the judge in his case, Joanna Seybert in the Eastern District of New York, from throwing the book at him. She imposed the maximum possible sentence for Santos’ crimes.
Now he’s calling his seven-year stretch “politically influenced” — catnip for a president obsessed with upending judicial norms.
“I asked the Court for a sentence that balances accountability with the chance to prove through sustained, measurable action that I can still contribute positively to the community I wronged,” Santos wrote, winding up for his big pitch.
“I believe that 7 years is an over the top politically influenced sentence and I implore that President Trump gives me a chance to prove I’m more than the mistakes I’ve made.”
Santos signed off, “Respectfully.”
The expelled congressman stayed busy over the weekend, waiting for an answer and likely refreshing his Truth Social feed multiple times. He did a live critique of the WHCD red carpet, reposted Libs of TikTok propaganda, and introduced a countdown clock to his time behind bars.
“T-89 Days!” he posted Sunday.
With no news of a pardon by Monday, Santos seemed resigned to his fate — or was he working in another, veiled plea to the president?
“When life gets hard, DANCE!” he posted Monday morning ahead of an online dance class featuring “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga.
“Hold me in your heart tonight, in the magic of the dark moonlight,” the song goes. “Save me from this empty fight, In the game of life.”
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