Sean Hannity Pushes George Santos to Pay Back Victims Despite Trump Pardon: ‘Too Much Obfuscation in Your Voice’

Fox News host Sean Hannity pressed former congressman George Santos to repay monies owed to defrauded donors Monday, despite his commutation erasing his restitution requirements, and warned the Republican that his explanation of the “technicalities” around who he owed funds to sounded like “obfuscation.”

The 37-year-old ex-lawmaker, expelled from Congress in 2023 after admitting to wire fraud and identity theft, appeared on Hannity just days after the president intervened to release him from federal custody on Friday

During the interview, Hannity pointed out that he had been a past constituent of Santos’, prompting a direct apology from the congressman to both him and the “American people.”

Santos served only three months of his 87-month sentence at FCI Fairton in New Jersey. Trump’s commutation also erased $373,750 in restitution he had been ordered to repay to donors he defrauded. After accepting the apology, Hannity turned his attention to the restitution.

“So, I have a question that no one has asked you,” the host said. “You don’t have to pay back anything. It was an amount of restitution for victims of over $373,000. There was another incident where you had repeatedly charged contributions of credit cards without people’s authorization. Two donors transferred money to a liability company. These are things that you pled guilty to.”

He continued: “Here’s my question. Even though you’re not compelled with this commutation to pay it back, you think you should?”

Santos replied: “You know, Sean, I’ve put a lot of thought into that and I’ve spoken to my legal team. I think that the right thing to do is to explore a way to make it right. Part of actually squaring away with everything that has happened in my life is to start fresh and starting fresh, if it means we find a way to do it, sure.”

He continued: “I just want to make sure the record reflects, Sean – not obfuscating or deflecting – part of the sum would have gone to the Republican National Republican Congressional Committee. [The] Merrick Garland administration at the DOJ determined that I was to pay back restitution to the Republican Party Congressional Committee campaign because they believed that they donated to my campaign and invested in my campaign under false pretenses even though the merits of that was to win a race and I did. So I understand the question.”

He added: “Again, it’s been four days and we have a lot to process. I’ll look into the best I can, best efforts. Like I said, it’s about doing what is right. It’s about moving forward. It’s about changing the ending of my life because I can’t go back and change the beginning, but President Trump gave me an opportunity to change the end. With that, I want to help troubled youth.”

Hannity replied by insisting that the former congressman was speaking in technicalities and that he needed to “go there” as an “important first step” to setting his actions right.

“You charged money without people’s knowledge directly to their credit card and spent it for your own personal gain. In other cases, you talked about the monies actually, the Republican Committee – blah, blah – that’s technically true, but that money came from people,” Hannity contested.

The host added: “So, I would think… I don’t know, if you really are serious about the God thing, I think you really – you have to go there, to me. I think that would be the important first step. Doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to make all that money, I know you’re back doing greetings online and so on and so forth, and I hope you’re successful and I hope you’re successful in all of your business, but, you know, I think I hear too much obfuscation in your voice.”

“Am I wrong?” the host pressed.

“It’s not obfuscation, it’s been four days Sean. This question was posed to me – at the time of my release, I didn’t know the conditions of my commutations. I didn’t know that until I saw it on the chyrons of the TV in the cafeteria. Over at FCI Fairton,” Santos replied.

He continued: “To answer your question, it’s something that I have definitely started putting thought into after it was posed to me. Again, I will definitely explore those avenues. You’re not wrong, it is the right thing to do and it’s definitely the Godly thing to do and I will do the best I can in my best efforts to find a way to do it. And again, not at all running away from my responsibility, culpability and looking forward to prove that, not just to President Trump, but to the American people. At the end of the day, the only road to redemption will be if I show and my actions show that I really am turning a leaf.”

“You said the right and Godly thing to do. I think that would – that would make that answer to be you should be compelled to do it in your heart,” Hannity nudged before moving on.

Watch above via Fox News.