""I am not paying too much attention to the pearl clutching of the outrage of my critics and of the people predominantly on the left who are going to go out there and try to make a big deal out of something like this," he said. "It is known that presidents have the power of the pardon and the clemency, which are plenary.""
""Prison is not rehabilitating anybody. It's actually creating recidivism because it's not doing what it's supposed to do," he said. "I told this to the president that I'd love to be involved with prison reform and not in a partisan way, in a real human way, in a way that we affect it, that it helps society, it helps these individuals rebuild their lives and we have a better system with less incarcerated people.""
George Santos served 84 days of a seven-year federal prison sentence following convictions for fraud and identity theft and received a presidential commutation. He characterized criticism of the short incarceration as "pearl clutching" and defended presidential clemency as plenary. New York Republicans criticized the commutation, citing lack of restitution and apparent absence of remorse. Santos stated willingness to repay donors only if legally required and said he will focus on future efforts. He emphasized prison reform, arguing current incarceration practices fail to rehabilitate, increase recidivism, and should help individuals rebuild their lives.
Read at Gothamist
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