August 20, 2024 11:22 AM UTC

Boebert's Bestie George Santos Headed To Prison

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• by: Colorado Pols

As NBC News reports, expelled former Republican Congressman George Santos’ long ride of fraud and theft that peaked with a partial term in the U.S. House came to an end yesterday, as Santos pled guilty to two felony counts in a deal with prosecutors that will include a mandatory minimum prison sentence:

Santos, who was expelled from Congress on Dec. 1, was facing a 23-count superseding indictment in U.S. District Court in New York, including charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission. He was initially indicted on 13 counts in May last year.

“I deeply regret my conduct, I fully accept responsibility for my actions, and I understand my actions have betrayed the trust of my supporters,” Santos said in court Monday.

He appeared to be choking back tears as he spoke to reporters outside the Alfonse M. D’Amato U.S. Courthouse in Central Islip afterward.

“I am dedicated to making amends for the wrongs I have committed,” he said. “This plea is not just an admission of guilt. It’s an acknowledgment I need to be held accountable like any other American that breaks the law.”

After Santos was expelled from the House on December 1 of last year, he remained in the public eye with help from his former Republican back-bench colleagues, which prominently included Colorado’s own cartload of controversy Rep. Lauren Boebert. Boebert continued to publicly socialize with Santos despite his expulsion, and was seen hanging out with Santos in the House chambers before this year’s State of the Union address. Santos originally ingratiated himself with Boebert, as readers will recall, by babysitting Boebert’s grandchild, who Boebert was regularly bringing with her to work at the time.

Yesterday marks the first time that Santos has publicly acknowledged that his shameless grift operation masquerading as a congressional campaign was in fact a crime. We do wonder if that admission will come as a surprise to Boebert, if she had somehow managed to convince herself up until yesterday that her good friend and babysitter was not the wholesale fraud that prosecutors alleged–or whether she knew better the whole time. Santos is far from the only shady figure in Rep. Boebert’s orbit who raises questions about her own judgment, but with this guilty plea Santos is now one of the more egregious examples.

Had Boebert not carpetbagged her way to relative safety in deep red CO-04, her friendship with Santos would be inflicting significant damage right now. As it is, it’s still an easy tee-up for Boebert’s Democratic opponent in their upcoming debate, and a reminder of the baggage the voters in Boebert’s new district are being asked to willingly take on.