WASHINGTON — Former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., said in an interview Sunday on CNN that he would only pay roughly $374,000 in restitution if I was “required of me by law.”
“I can do my best to do whatever the law requires of me,” Santos said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” when asked if he would work to repay people as the judge had previously ordered.
He said: “So I don’t know what this is. I have been out of prison for two days. I agreed to come here to talk to you openly and frankly and not to be obfuscating.” “If the law requires me to do so, then yes. If not, then no. I will do whatever the law requires of me.”
Santos was released from prison after President Donald Trump commuted his sentence on Friday, cutting his seven-year prison term less than three months later.
The former congressman had previously done so plead guilty On charges of committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. As part of his sentence, Santos was ordered to pay approximately $374,000 in restitution to those who The Public Prosecution was distinguished As his victims. Prosecutors accused Santos of embezzling money from campaign donors and charging credit cards without authorization, among other crimes.
In a separate interview with Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Santos claimed he still does not have to pay reparations.
“I don’t have any more hanging with the law. I don’t have any compensation. I don’t have any probation,” he said, adding that “most of the compensation was really crazy.”
Santos was previously expelled from the House of Representatives in December 2023. Just over a month after his election, Santos was thrust into the spotlight after… The New York Times reported He seems to have made up much of his autobiography. In November 2023, the House Ethics Committee issued a report that said there was “substantial evidence” that the then-congressman “violated federal criminal laws,” prompting Santos to say he would not seek re-election.
Trump announced on Friday that he would commute the sentence issued against Santos, confirming in this regard Social function of truth And that Santos was “extremely ill-treated.” In the same post, Trump said that “Santos at least has the courage, conviction, and intelligence to always vote Republican!”
In the same post, Trump took aim at Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, who apologized for saying he served in the military “in Vietnam” and not “during Vietnam.” Trump said Blumenthal’s actions were “far worse than what George Santos did.” After Santos’ sentence was commuted, Blumenthal told NBC News that “Trump’s statements are fabricated nonsense,” adding that “there is no excuse for commuting George Santos’ sentence.”
Santos’ commutation also drew the ire of Richard Osthoff, a Navy veteran who accused Santos of stealing money from a GoFundMe to raise money for his dog’s life-saving surgery.
“My intestines dropped out; I felt like I was going to throw up,” Osthoff said after hearing about the sentence reduction.
Santos thanked the president in his interview with Fox News, praising Trump as having an “amazing will to have second chances.” In his interview with CNN, Santos dismissed Trump’s critics.
“I’m pretty sure if President Trump had pardoned Jesus Christ on the cross, he would have had critics,” Santos told CNN. “So this is the reality of our country.”
Gabriel Khariaty, Katie Taylor, Amanda Terkel, Catherine Doyle and Adam Rees Contribute.