George Santos shares comparison to Princess Diana (while quietly admitting theft charges)

While protesting his innocence in the US, beleaguered Rep. George Santos has apparently quietly settled historical charges of theft in Brazil. Not that you would know it from his social media. Santos was busy yesterday evening retweeting messages comparing himself to Princess Diana.

Santos reposted a tweet making that bizarre comparison and added his own crown emoji.

Santos, a Republican Rep. for New York District 3, was arraigned in court on Wednesday. He faces seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and is due to appear in court again on June 30.

However, news emerged yesterday that Santos has agreed a deal with prosecutors in Brazil on theft charges dating back to 2008.

The Washington Post reported the gay congressman signed a deal admitting the charges and agreeing to pay restitution and fines in exchange for authorities dropping the criminal case against him there.

Santos’ lawyer in Brazil, Jonymar Vasconcelos, confirmed this, saying, “The case ended today. My client is no longer facing any charges in Brazil.”

What happened in Brazil?

According to prosecutors, in 2008, Santos, then aged 19, used a stolen checkbook to buy around $700 of clothing and shoes. The owner of the shop, near Rio De Janeiro, reported him to the police.

They questioned Santos, whd reportedly admitted it at the time.

A judge accepted the charges against Santos in 2011. However, subsequent subpoenas went unanswered. Santos had left the country.

As authorities couldn’t locate Santos, the case was dropped in 2013. However, when Santos gained worldwide notoriety at the start of this year with his fake résumé and lies, they reopened the case.

Santos appeared virtually Thursday afternoon at the criminal court hearing in Rio. He now has 30 days to pay $2,000 in fines and $2,800 to the victim.

The shop owner, Carlos Bruno Simões, attended yesterday’s virtual hearing. He expressed disappointment the fines were not greater.

“He got off super cheap,” Simões said.

We don’t actually remember Princess Diana ever being charged with theft, wire fraud or money laundering. Maybe we missed that episode of The Crown?

Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu was among those to call on Speaker Kevin McCarthy to act. Up until this point. McCarthy has refused to expel Santos or demand his resignation. McCarthy says Santos should be regarded as “innocent until proven guilty”. Lieu reminded McCarthy that Santos has now pleaded guilty to the charges in Brazil.

Santos has made no public statement about settling his case with Brazilian authorities.