George Santos wants a get-out-of-jail-free card.
The disgraced former congressman, who is set to be sentenced Friday for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, has made one last plea for mercy in an interview with The New York Times.
Santos, 36, lied his way to Congress and was expelled from his position after less than a year in office. The New York lawmaker was swamped with controversies even before the scandal that ended his career—including touting a non-existent real estate portfolio, fake claims of college degrees, and doubt around whether he’s Jewish or merely “Jew-ish.” The fibber even told donors a bizarre tall tale about producing Broadway’s Spiderman musical.
“Right now, my expectation is I’m going to prison for 87 months,” he told The New York Times Wednesday. “I’m totally resigned.”
“I came into this world alone,” he added bitterly. “I will deal with it alone, and I will go out alone.”
The Republican was also busted for a series of other cons, like fraudulently collecting unemployment, impersonating donors to rack up credit card charges, and embezzling funds to pay for designer goods and Botox.
The steadfast MAGA lover has previously claimed that he won’t be seeking an official pardon. But Santos is known for his... exaggerations.
“The president knows my predicament,” he told The Times on Wednesday. “It’s not like it’s a secret. 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.”
Santos promised to own up for his self-proclaimed “unethical” actions when he was caught. But in the last few months, he’s struggled with paying the victims back and turned to the website Cameo to monetize his infamy. He’s sold personalized videos of himself online to fund his own defense.
When prosecutors announced they were pushing for an 87-month sentence, Santos ranted on X to call the government a “cabal of pedophiles” and backtracked on his earlier confessions, suggesting he actually didn’t swindle campaign funds.
On his personal podcast, Pants on Fire, he also deserted his earlier pretense of regret.
“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?” he said in one episode.
In an April 1 podcast episode, media personality Perez Hilton questioned Santos on whether he would ask for a presidential pardon if he faced years in prison.
“You bet your sweet a-- I would,” he admitted.
