Former Rep. George Santos has had his sentencing delayed for two months after he asked for additional time to continue making episodes of his podcast.
Concretely, the disgraced former lawmaker said new iterations of "Pants on Fire with George Santos" would allow him to make more money to restitute the government. He owes over $575,000 according to the deal in which he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Considering he is required to pay more than $200,000 in forfeiture money before he is sentenced, his lawyers said that the podcast is a "viable path to making meaningful progress in satisfying his obligations, requiring only additional time for the quarterly compensation structure to generate sufficient funds." They asked the judge to delay the sentencing until August but got 10 weeks instead.
Prosecutors in the case, in contrast, disagreed with the request, saying the claim that it's only a matter of time before the podcast generates money is "speculative, and, in any event, entirely insufficient to warrant such a lengthy adjournment." Moreover, they said Santos has already made more than $400,000 in appearances in Cameo, the app in which people can hire others for different sums so they send them personalized videos, and $400,000 for appearing in a documentary, as well as his salary as a congressman ($174,000 a year).
"Allowing Santos to stave off sentencing specifically to monetize his infamy would send a message that crime pays," prosecutors said.
Santos admitted to lying to Congress about his wealth, using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses and collecting unemployment benefits while working.
Santos had vowed to continue involved in politics despite his expulsion, filing to run in a different district to the one he had initially won. However, his campaign failed to report on any fundraising or expenditures by March this year, fueling speculation that he found no appetite for a candidacy.
Then in April he said he would end his campaign to avoid potentially splitting the Republican vote for first-term GOP Representative Nick LaLota, and bolster the eventual Democratic nominee in the 1st congressional district.
Santos is the sixth House member to be expelled from the House of Representatives. Rep. James Traficant was the previous representative removed from office in 2002 over corruption charges. Two of his campaign aides have already pleaded guilty to crimes related to the campaign.
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