George Santos: From Congress to Conviction & Drag

That same month, Santos revealed he would certainly not look for reelection. A week later on, the House eliminated him in a bipartisan vote, making him only the 6th legislator in U.S. history to be gotten rid of by their peers.

And just days prior to that hearing, the united state Division of Justice submitted a pungent new letter with the court, cautioning that Santos’s behavior in recent weeks mirrors “a solid risk of regression and an absence of sorrow.” The April 17 filing outlines what prosecutors call a “social networks blitz” by Santos that directly negates the insurance claims of “genuine remorse” made by his legal team. “His activities speak louder than any words, and they crave a significant carceral sentence,” the DOJ wrote.

House Ethics Committee Report

The House Ethics Committee’s November 2023 report confirmed several claims and exposed much more. It described just how Santos wired himself $20,000 from his project, made undisclosed withdrawals near his Queens house, and misguided factors regarding where their cash was going.

By January, his legal team asked to delay sentencing, arguing Santos needed more time to create revenue through his podcast, Trousers ablaze with George Santos, and meet monetary obligations tied to his guilty plea– greater than $580,000 in restitution and loss. District attorneys flatly opposed the request, pointing out the speculative nature of his endeavors and implicating him of trying to postpone justice by monetizing notoriety.

From Detraction to Income

Considering that his ouster, Santos has transformed detraction into income. In December 2023, he released a Cameo account, selling video clip messages for as much as $400 apiece and boasting he made a lot more in two days than he did as a participant of Congress.

Mark Chiusano, author of The Fabulist, a bio of Santos currently optioned for a film by HBO, has actually described Santos as someone that views life– and politics– as a phase. “He thinks his own lies,” Chiusano toldThe Advocate. “He sees life as a collection of functions to play. Congress was just among them.”

Federal Charges and Sentencing

The previous New york city congressman, who turned a blue area red in 2022, begged guilty to 23 federal felony counts, consisting of wire fraudulence and exacerbated identification burglary. Federal prosecutors are advising a judge to sentence him to seven years and three months in prison, defining him as a “pathological phony and fraudster” who “travestied our election system.” Sentencing is arranged for April 25.

The April 17 declaring details what prosecutors call a “social media strike” by Santos that directly negates the insurance claims of “genuine regret” made by his lawful team. According to federal prosecutors and a Home Ethics Committee report, Santos utilized his project account as an individual piggy financial institution. In an April 17 letter to Court Joanna Seybert, federal prosecutors said that Santos’s recent online habits makes clear he has not altered. In the days following the federal government’s initial sentencing memo on April 4, Santos took to social media to deny details conduct in the instance– including high-end purchases made with contributor funds. Mark Chiusano, writer of The Fabulist, a biography of Santos now optioned for a film by HBO, has described Santos as a person who views life– and politics– as a stage.

Citing several cases where courts attested harsher sentences for accuseds that demonstrated denial and manipulation at sentencing, the DOJ stated Santos’s conduct ought to consider greatly against kindness. “Put plainly,” they wrote, “Santos is not genuinely sorry.”

In a personal letter submitted with the court Monday, Santos admitted his sense of guilt and asserted to share sorrow, however he also withstood the Justice Department’s use of his social media messages as proof of defiance and unrepentance. “Real remorse isn’t mute,” Santos wrote in the three-page letter to U.S. District Court Joanna Seybert. “It knows itself, and it speaks out when the penalty scale delves into the unreasonable.”

Return of Kitara Ravache

In April 2024, he restored his long-denied drag personality, Kitara Ravache. After 18 years in the closet, I’m back for a minimal time!”

In lots of means, Santos’s entire public persona– from “Jew-ish” claims to Kitara Ravache– has actually been performance art. But federal prosecutors are currently asking Seybert to deliver something that punctures the drama: 87 months behind bars.

Christopher Wiggins is The Supporter’s elderly nationwide press reporter in Washington, D.C., covering the intersection of public policy and national politics with LGBTQ+ lives, including The White Residence, U.S. Congress, High Court, and government agencies. He has composed multiple cover tale profiles for The Supporter’s print publication, profiling numbers like Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, longtime LGBTQ+ ally Vice President Kamala Harris, and ABC Greetings America Weekend break anchor Gio Benitez. Wiggins is dedicated to enhancing untold tales, especially as the 2nd Trump administration’s plans influence LGBTQ+ (and specifically transgender) rights, and can be gotten to at christopher.wiggins@equalpride.com or on BlueSky at cwnewser.bsky.social; whistleblowers can firmly call him on Signal at cwdc.98.

“Good riddance,” claimed Brandon Wolf, a survivor of the Pulse club bloodbath and press assistant for the Civil rights Project. “His abhorrent anti-LGBTQ+ voting document, likely criminal actions, and seeming failure to tell the truth … made it clear that he had no service offering in Congress.”

Christopher Wiggins is The Supporter’s elderly nationwide press reporter in Washington, D.C., covering the intersection of public law and national politics with LGBTQ+ lives, consisting of The White Home, United State Congress, High Court, and government companies. He has composed multiple cover story accounts for The Supporter’s print publication, profiling figures like Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, longtime LGBTQ+ ally Vice President Kamala Harris, and ABC Greetings America Weekend anchor Gio Benitez. Wiggins is devoted to amplifying unimaginable stories, specifically as the second Trump administration’s policies impact LGBTQ+ (and specifically transgender) legal rights, and can be gotten to at christopher.wiggins@equalpride.com or on BlueSky at cwnewser.bsky.social; whistleblowers can safely call him on Signal at cwdc.98.

Lies sustained Santos’s political increase. He made college levels, created Wall Road qualifications, falsely claimed to be Jewish, and stated his grandparents left the Holocaust. He also insisted he shed staff members in the Pulse bar shooting– a lie condemned by LGBTQ+ groups.

Santos had actually formerly disregarded records of his drag efficiencies as “unconditionally incorrect” regardless of photographic evidence and accounts from Brazil. The abrupt pivot only deepened the understanding that Santos was willing to play any kind of duty that maintained him in the limelight– and paid.

In an April 17 letter to Court Joanna Seybert, federal district attorneys said that Santos’s current online behavior makes clear he has actually not transformed. In the days adhering to the government’s preliminary sentencing memo on April 4, Santos took to social networks to deny details conduct in case– including deluxe acquisitions made with contributor funds. He represented himself as a target of a “cabal of pedophiles” and declared the DOJ was letting sex traffickers and drug lords “walk freely.”

Yet what started as résumé rising cost of living turned criminal. According to government district attorneys and a Residence Ethics Committee record, Santos utilized his campaign account as a personal piggy bank. He made high-end buy from Ferragamo and Hermès, spent thousands at gambling establishments, spent for Botox, and signed up for OnlyFans– all with donor money.