When Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. was about to be arraigned at a Long Island court on Wednesday afternoon, I was sitting about eight feet behind him with a clear view over his left shoulder. I could see his lawyer showing him a sheet of paper which had on it a bunch of print and most notably, a copy of Santos’ own mugshot.
As Santos gazed at his image, I wondered if, after what sounds like a lifetime of allegedly scamming and scheming, these legal proceedings could finally force Santos to face legal consequences for his alleged actions.
Santos’ response sounded awfully similar to that of another Republican, who happened to face charges of his own the same week: former President Donald Trump.
Federal prosecutors announced 13 charges against Santos this week: Seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. He could face up to 20 years in prison. (Santos has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.)
“The reality is — is it’s a witch hunt!” the congressman exclaimed to a swarm of reporters outside the courthouse Wednesday shortly after he was freed on a $500,000 bond. Santos’ response sounded awfully similar to that of another Republican, who happened to face charges of his own the same week: former President Donald Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll in a civil rape case.
Beyond the familiar refrain, Santos has appeared to emulate Trump in much of his career — from inflating the level of his own personal wealth to aligning himself with MAGA operatives to claiming press stories about him were an outright lie. Now, it appears he’s modeling his defense after Trump by saying the federal charges against him are politically-motivated and driven by his haters.
But legal troubles are where their similarities end. Santos will have to reckon with the fact that he has neither the…
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