George Santos says goodbye

NEW YORK (AP) — Released from prison where he had been serving time for defrauding his campaign donors, former U.S. Rep. George Santos says he is humbled by his experience behind bars but isn’t worried about the “pearl clutching” of critics upset that President Donald Trump granted him clemency.

“I’m pretty sure that if President Trump had forgiven Jesus Christ on the cross, he would have had criticism,” Santos said Sunday in an interview on CNN.

Santos, who won office after inventing a false identity as a Wall Street dealmaker, pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft last year and began serving a seven-year sentence in July in a New Jersey prison. But Trump ordered his release on Friday after serving just 84 days. Trump called Santos a “rogue” but said he did not deserve a harsh sentence and should get credit for voting Republican.

Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Santos said he had “learned a lot” and had “a very large piece of the humility pie, if not the whole pie” while in prison.

He also apologized to former constituents in his New York congressional district, saying he was “in a chaotic ball of fire” when he committed his crimes. Santos admitted last year to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people, including his own relatives.

But when asked about fellow Republicans who are unhappy that Trump released him so soon, Santos said other presidential acts of clemency had been worse, citing President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter, for tax and gun crimes.

“So forgive me if I’m not paying too much attention to the outrage of my critics,” Santos said.

Bill Clark via Getty Images

As part of his guilty plea, Santos had agreed to pay restitution of $373,750 and forfeiture of $205,003. But Trump’s pardon order appeared to exempt him from paying further fines or restitution.

Santos said he had been given a second chance and intended to “make amends,” but when asked if he intended to pay back campaign donors he had defrauded, he said only if necessary.

“If the law requires me to, yes. If not, then no,” Santos said.

Santos had asked Trump directly for help, citing his loyalty to the president’s agenda and the Republican Party in a letter published Oct. 13 in The South Shore Press. But he said Sunday he had no expectations and learned of his commutation from other inmates who watched the news on television.

Revelations that Santos fabricated much of his life story emerged just weeks after becoming the first openly gay Republican elected to Congress in 2022.

Santos had said during his campaign that he was a successful business consultant with a sizable real estate portfolio. But he finally admitted to having embellished his biography. He had never graduated from Baruch College, where he claimed to be a standout player on the Manhattan College volleyball team. I had never worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. He did not own property.

In truth, he struggled financially, working several jobs, including one for a company accused of running a Ponzi scheme, and even facing eviction.

After becoming the sixth person expelled from Congress, Santos made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling personalized videos to the public on Cameo. He returned to duty on Sunday.