George Santos says he’s humbled but dismisses ‘pearl clutching’ critics

NEW YORK (AP) — Freed from the prison where he had been serving time for ripping off his campaign donors, former U.S. Rep. George Santos says he’s humbled by his experience behind bars but unconcerned about the “pearl clutching” of critics upset that President Donald Trump granted him clemency.

“I’m pretty confident if President Trump had pardoned Jesus Christ off the cross, he would have had critics,” Santos said Sunday in an interview on CNN.

Santos, who won office after inventing a bogus persona as a Wall Street dealmaker, pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft last year and began serving a 7-year sentence in July at a prison in New Jersey. But Trump ordered him released him Friday after he’d served just 84 days. Trump called Santos a “rogue,” but said he didn’t 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 great deal” and had “a very large slice of humble 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 flame” when he committed his crimes. Santos admitted last year to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people — including his own family members.

But when asked about fellow Republicans unhappy that Trump freed 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 gun and tax crimes.

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

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

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

“If it’s required of me by the law, yes. If it’s not, then no,” Santos said.

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

Revelations that Santos invented much of his life story surfaced just weeks after he became the first openly gay Republican to elected to Congress in 2022.

Santos had said while campaigning that he was a successful business consultant with a sizable real estate portfolio. But he ultimately admitted to embellishing his biography. He had never graduated from Baruch College, where he had claimed to be a standout player on the Manhattan college’s volleyball team. He had never worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. He didn’t own property.

In truth, he struggled financially, had drifted through several jobs, including one for a company accused of running a Ponzi scheme, and even faced eviction.

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