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Former New York Republican Rep. George Santos asked President Donald Trump for help on Thursday after receiving a seven-year prison sentence for wire fraud and identity theft.
Santos shared the request with host Piers Morgan to ensure clemency or commutation following his guilty verdict.
“I’ll take a commutation, clemency, whatever the president is willing to give me,” Santos told Morgan. “Seven years and three months in prison for a first-time offender over campaign matters just screams ‘over the top,’ and I would appreciate if the president would consider.”
“I do believe this is an unfair judgment handed down to me,” Santos said in a report from Just the News. “I think there was a lot of politicization over the process.”
Santos was elected in 2022 and expelled from the House a year later due to ethics charges related to false statements made during his campaign about his background.
Santos made a series of disputed claims about his background, many of which have been contradicted by public records and the institutions involved. He previously said he graduated from Baruch College and New York University, though both schools have no record of his attendance. Santos also identified as Jewish, while at other times describing himself as a devout Catholic.
He claimed that four of his employees were killed in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. However, a New York Times investigation found no evidence that any of the 49 victims worked for companies associated with Santos.
Santos further asserted that his mother survived the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center. However, immigration records cited by multiple news outlets indicate she was not in the United States then.
During his congressional campaign, Santos listed Citigroup and Goldman Sachs as former employers, a claim both firms denied when contacted by NBC New York.