Santos Got 7 Years. Will He Get a Trump Pardon?

A federal judge disregarded pleas for leniency and imposed a seven-year sentence on ousted congressman George Santos on fraud charges Friday. Now, one question in circulation is whether the short-lived GOP lawmaker and strong backer of President Trump might be in line for a pardon. Coverage:

• When asked by Perez Hilton earlier this month whether he would request a pardon from Trump if he got years in prison, Santos responded, "You bet your sweet a-- I would," reports the Daily Beast.
• But Santos was far more measured when talking to the New York Times earlier this week. In fact, he seemed to say exactly the opposite. "The president knows my predicament. It's not like it's a secret," he said. "If the president thinks I'm worthy of any level of clemency that is bestowed upon him, he can go ahead and do it, but for me to seek a pardon is to deny accountability and responsibility."
• He similarly told NY1 that he had not reached out to Trump. "I believe in the process. I believe that also the president is aware of my situation." He added, per NBC News, "If he feels like I'm worthy of a commutation or of clemency or whatever the case is, he can make that decision." Trump himself has not addressed the possibility.

• At Newsday, columnist Dan Janison first runs through all the reasons it might happen, the big one being that Santos "has been a MAGA adherent all the way." Plus, he has no violence on his record. On the other hand, "Trump doesn't seem to like those who'd latch on to his own parade without an invitation," let alone someone who became an embarrassment to fellow Republicans. "For the national party Trump came to own, Santos' quick public career was bad for business," writes Janison. "That could be his biggest obstacle to winning Trump's magisterial favor."
• But at the liberal Daily Kos site, a post by ARodinFan suggests we can bank on a pardon—when it suits the president's purposes. If "a distraction is needed from the latest misstep, pardoning Santos should get enough attention to make it worth the blowback," reads the post. "Count on it."

(More George Santos stories.)