Spicy supplemental submissions as federal sentencing for George Santos approaches
In this post last August, I pondered “what sentence for former US Rep George Santos after his plea to fraud and identity theft?”. And in this post a couple of weeks ago, I reported on and linked to dueling sentencing memos submitted to US District Judge Joanna Seybert prior to Santos’ scheduled federal sentencing on April 25, 2025. That post detailed that federal prosecutors sought a sentence of 87 months in prison while Santos advocated for a the statutory minimum term of two years.
Intrigung, the dueling has continues as sentencing approaches through notable supplemental letters from the parties. This CBS News piece provides some of the details along with links to the letters:
Disgraced former Rep. George Santos sent a lengthy letter to the judge set to sentence him on Friday as prosecutors seek a seven year sentence.
Last week, a filing by the Justice Department described Santos, 36, as “unrepentant for his crimes,” pointing to various social media posts he recently made. One such post said “No matter how hard the DOJ comes for me, they are mad because they will NEVER break my spirit.” Another post criticized the DOJ for indicting him but not “the cabal of pedophiles running around in every power structure in the world including the US Government.” In another post, Santos labeled himself a “scapegoat.”
The DOJ said those posts show Santos is approaching his sentencing “with belligerence and an insatiable appetite for ‘likes,’ blaming his situation on everyone except himself.” The Justice Department argued that the posts are “hardly an expression of ‘genuine remorse.'”…
In his letter, Santos attempts to offer a rebuttal to the DOJ filing. Santos pointed to his August guilty plea, and statements he made at the time in court expressing regret and accepting responsibility for duping voters by fabricating his life story, as well as deceiving donors and committing identity theft, which ultimately led him to be expelled from the House.
“Those words were not a scripted contrition; they were the culmination of months of bruising self-examination. This case has cost me my congressional seat, my reputation, my livelihood, and, most painful of all, the confidence of people who believed in me. Every sunrise since that plea has carried the same realization: I did this, me. I am responsible,” Santos wrote. “But saying I’m sorry doesn’t require me to sit quietly while these prosecutors try to drop an anvil on my head.”
Both of the supplemental filing make for interesting reads, but the three-page Santos letter is especially engaging.
Prior related posts: