Former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) has asked that President Donald Trump give him a chance to prove that he is “more than the mistakes” he has made after the former lawmaker was sentenced to 7 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Santos said that he would like a pardon for the “over the top politically influenced sentence.”

On Friday, Santos wrote on X, “This is the hardest statement I have ever written. I write this humbled, chastened, and fully accountable for choices that shattered the faith so many placed in me. I betrayed the confidence entrusted to me by many. For that, I offer my deepest apology. When I pled guilty, I did so without reservation. I said then, and I repeat now, that my conduct betrayed my supporters and diminished the institution I was privileged to serve. Those words have weighed on me every day since.”

“I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead. I asked the Court for a sentence that balances accountability with the chance to prove through sustained, measurable action that I can still contribute positively to the community I wronged. I believe that 7 years is an over the top politically influenced sentence and I implore that President Trump gives me a chance to prove I’m more than the mistakes I’ve made,” Santos added.

The former lawmaker previously thought he would not need a pardon, but told reporters at Fox 5 that he will begin pursuing options for a “commutation, pardon, [or] whatever clemency” that can be offered by Trump and that the sentence was “overkill” for the conviction he was given. “After today I can’t help but feel like this was an overreaching verdict,” he added. 

Santos has around three months before he has to report to federal prison, and he plans on figuring things out before then. “I need to figure out my life,” he told Fox 5. “Figuring out how to depart from my family for seven years. It’s not an easy task.”

Santos served in Congress for a little less than a year before he was expelled from the legislative body. An ethics investigation in 2023 found that he had spent campaign funds in order to get Botox, designer clothing, OnlyFans, and other goods and services. Over 100 Republicans joined with the Democrats to oust Santos at the time.

Prosecutors asked for an 87-month prison sentence for Santos and argued that he needed to think about the “seriousness of his unparalleled crimes” and that the time served would “protect the public from being defrauded.”