Santos: Prison system ‘creating monsters’

Former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) said that the prison system is “creating monsters” after he was released from prison last week.

“We are creating an environment of failure, so people are prone to make poor choices to survive, and then they’re thrown in prison and treated inhumanely,” Santos said Monday on Meghan McCain’s show “Citizen McCain.”

“They don’t have a voice like I did. They don’t have the support system I had. So, that’s why I want to be that support system,” he added. “I think we need to revisit how we do jail in this country, how we do prison. If we’re not going to put them in prison to reform them and reintegrate them back into the communities, we are creating monsters.”

Santos was let out of prison Friday after President Trump announced he commuted the ex-House member’s sentence. Santos reported to prison over the summer to start his 87-month term.

“George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last week.

“Good luck George, have a great life!” the president added after revealing Santos was to be released from prison “IMMEDIATELY.”

Santos initially faced a seven-year prison sentence in the wake of pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was expelled from Congress in late 2023 when it was revealed that he made up parts of his resume as well as campaign finance reports.

“Well, darlings … The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed. From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it’s been!” Santos said in a post on social media before reporting to prison.