The Department of Justice is asking a federal judge to impose a seven-year jail sentence on disgraced former Republican congressman George Santos, noting he has labeled himself “unrepentant for his crimes” on social media because of his “insatiable appetite for ‘likes.’”
In the weeks leading up to Santos’ sentencing after pleading guilty to fraud and identity theft, the 36-year-old has taken to social media to attack Justice Department prosecutors for trying to “break” him, refer to the government as a “cabal of pedophiles,” and deny wrongdoing despite his guilty plea.
Prosecutors pointed to his grating online positions in their most recent sentencing memorandum, saying he has approached sentencing “with belligerence and an insatiable appetite for ‘likes,’ blaming his situation on everyone except himself.”
“Hi my name is George Santos and the DOJ has a hard-on for me since December of 2023,” Santos wrote in one post. “I refuse to let them break me or my spirit and that makes them big Mad … they have used elaborate language to drag me and hinder my ability to earn income.”
Federal prosecutors called the social media post by Santos a “bizarre missive portraying himself as a victim of prosecutorial overreach and selective prosecution.”
The five-page document by prosecutors, packed with screenshots of Santos’s posts, says the former congressman “refuses to own up to his actions” and is “not genuinely remorseful,” despite admitting to the two counts and admitting to committing wire fraud, stealing credit card information and lying to the Federal Election Commission.
They argued that for those reasons, it would be reasonable to incarcerate Santos for 87 months, or seven years.
Santos initially pleaded not guilty to all charges and accused the DOJ of engaging in a “witch hunt” after him.
Federal prosecutors said Santos engaged in three schemes to pocket money from political donors and government assistance programs to fund his lavish lifestyle.
That included defrauding political donors, fraudulently applying for pandemic unemployment assistance, stealing political donors’ credit cards to inflate his wealth and knowingly making false statements about his income on a federal financial disclosure form during his campaign.
Santos was expelled from the House by his colleagues in December 2023. He later reignited his bid for Congress but dropped out soon after.
A judge will sentence Santos April 25.
