George Santos freed early after Trump commutes his fraud sentence

[ad_1] NEW Now you can hearken to Fox Information articles!

When George Santos walked out of jail after serving lower than three months of his sentence, he took a remaining chunk of legislation enforcement credibility with him.

The expelled ex-congressman, whose 7-year sentence was commuted by President Trump, isn’t only a clownish liar who invented wild tales about himself. He's a rip-off artist who value his victims loads of cash, after which pleaded responsible.

However there's a a lot bigger query in regards to the Trump Justice Department and whether or not huge sums getting used to research his political enemies additionally contains using his pardon energy to let favored crooks, largely Republicans, off the authorized hook.

On the offensive finish, the president has ordered investigations of such political foes as James Comey and Letitia James – each of whom had been indicted by a loyalist when the skilled prosecutor was fired for insisting there was inadequate proof – together with Adam Schiff and George Soros.

GEORGE SANTOS VOWS NOT TO ‘DISAPPOINT’ TRUMP AFTER SURPRISE RELEASE, SAYS HE FOUND GOD IN PRISON

On the defensive finish, Trump already pardoned Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner (Jared’s father) on the finish of his first time period. And pardoned the Jan. 6 rioters when he regained the White Home.

In equity, Joe Biden handed out a lot of last-minute preemptive pardons to guard his allies from Trump, together with, after all, his son Hunter.

However right here’s the factor. DOJ spent many 1000's of {dollars} investigating Santos, gathering proof and bringing it earlier than a grand jury.

President Trump commuted the jail sentence of disgraced former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. (Theodore Parisienne/New York Each day Information/Tribune Information Service by way of Getty Photos)

The ex-lawmaker fraudulently claimed unemployment advantages.

He diverted cash from his donors for private bills, charging $11,000 from one sufferer’s bank card for designer clothes from Hermes and Sephora, cosmetics, OnlyFans purchases and, not surprisingly, Botox. For him, Botox was in all probability crucial expense.

So all the investigation was a waste of cash, given the get-out-of-jail-free card he was handed on the finish.

He claimed to have been a star volleyball participant at a school he by no means attended. He claimed he ran a pet charity (false) and raised cash for surgical procedure on a service canine, which wasn’t actually sick.

He claimed his mom was killed within the World Commerce Middle on 9/11. He claimed his Jewish grandparents fled the Nazis, however information present they had been residing in Brazil ; he later insisted he’d by no means mentioned he was Jewish. He claimed to personal 13 properties and have a $750,000 wage, each unfaithful. He claimed he had produced the Spider-Man flop on Broadway.

Most significantly, he claimed to have labored for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, which mentioned there was no report of him having been there – a false declare meant to offer him avenue cred in elevating cash.

GEORGE SANTOS EXPRESSES GRATITUDE TO TRUMP FOLLOWING COMMUTATION OF HIS 7-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE

Santos grew to become a nationwide punchline. However it was no joke within the Home, the place greater than 100 Republicans joined the Democrats in ousting him on the finish of 2023.

One other Trump tactic is to slam the brakes on present investigations, relying on his political preferences, which retroactively flip these probes into an train in futility. And that may embody Democrats.

New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams , a few of whose high aides had been convicted, was beneath indictment on corruption prices associated to Turkey when Trump took workplace. Adams had supported Trump on unlawful immigration, and the president shut down the probe – once more, rendering the legislation enforcement efforts a waste of taxpayer cash.

Trump additionally pardoned former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who was serving a 14-year sentence for making an attempt to promote Barack Obama’s previous Senate seat in a shakedown try. The president had commuted his sentence within the first time period.

Trump's pardons and commutations can cross occasion strains – simply ask Democratic former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Picture)

However again to Santos. Whereas the New York Instances uncovered a lot of Santos’ false resume, by that point he’d already been elected as a congressman from Lengthy Island.

However a neighborhood paper, the North Shore Chief, had uncovered him earlier than the election.

"All of us smelled a faux," Writer Grant Lally informed PBS’s "NewsHour," including: "We knew Santos was a fraud."

It was "very disappointing" that nobody picked up the news earlier than the election. "We did ship the paper out to loads of the native organs, loads of the media."

Santos caught Trump's eye, partially, after writing a column on jail life. (Stephen Nadler/ISI Photographs/ISI Photographs by way of Getty Photos and Win McNamee/Getty Photos)

I want he’d despatched it to me. The excuse was the nationwide press was busy with different New York tales.

I’ve by no means met Santos and don't have anything in opposition to him. He merely grew to become a nationwide embarrassment.

Santos bought Trump’s consideration partially by writing a column on jail life for Lengthy Island’s South Shore Press. Trump mentioned the convicted fabulist had been held in solitary confinement for lengthy stretches and "horribly mistreated."

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE'S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY'S HOTTEST STORIES

One rap in opposition to Santos is that he has by no means confirmed a lot regret.

On CNN’s "State of the Union" Sunday, he mentioned: "Persons are going to hate me. It doesn’t matter whoever will get clemency sooner or later, whoever that particular person is perhaps. I’m fairly assured that if President Trump had pardoned Jesus Christ off of the cross, he would have had critics. In order that’s simply the truth of our nation."

Geez.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

When the story of his serial fabrications first broke, former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, now director of nationwide intelligence, sharply questioned Santos throughout a Fox interview, demanding:

"Do you haven't any disgrace?"

The query nonetheless hangs within the air.

Howard Kurtz is a media and political analyst and the previous host of FOX Information Channel's MediaBuzz . Based mostly in Washington, D.C., he joined the community in 2013 and often seems on Particular Report with Bret Baier and The Story with Martha MacCallum amongst different applications.