George Santos says he's 'looking into' repaying fraud victims

(NewsNation) — Former Republican Congressman George Santos, freed from national situation past week aft a commutation from President Trump, is telling a caller communicative astir whether he’ll repay the victims helium defrauded.

Santos was ordered to wage much than $370,000 successful restitution, arsenic portion of his 87-month condemnation for ligament fraud and individuality theft, but the president’s clemency bid wiped those debts clean. On his image-rehabilitation circuit successful caller days, Santos told immoderate media outlets he would not repay the wealth due to the fact that helium was not legally obligated to bash so.

On Wednesday's "CUOMO," Santos appeared to pivot to a caller response: He’ll try.

“Look, I don’t person to, but I privation to,” helium said of the restitution helium had been ordered to pay. “I conjecture that would decidedly beryllium a large commencement for maine to beryllium to radical that my actions are antithetic than my past words and actions and transgressions.” 

Santos said immoderate repayments would request to spell done immoderate benignant of “official mechanism” for disbursement. He said his ineligible squad is moving connected it.

“You can’t conscionable nilly willy spell up to radical and say, ‘Oh, here’s a check,’” Santos said.

In his plea agreement, Santos, erstwhile a young and rising prima successful the Republican Party, admitted to stealing wealth from donors and committing recognition paper fraud. His little vocation successful Congress was tarnished by scandals that included puffing up his biography for the 2022 midterm elections.

The clemency granted by Trump is the latest illustration of the president coming to the rescue of a GOP subordinate convicted successful national court. In announcing the Santos commutation connected societal media, Trump called the erstwhile lawmaker “somewhat of a ‘rogue’” but said helium “had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!”

Santos disagreed the president’s commutations person been based connected governmental considerations, noting that Trump besides wiped the slate cleanable for erstwhile Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who was convicted of nationalist corruption charges.

“I deliberation it’s disingenuous to deliberation that this is political, but I recognize the concern,” helium said.