By PHILIP MARCELO

NEW YORK (AP) — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos “remains unrepentant” as he faces years in federal prison for fraud and identity theft, federal prosecutors say, citing a tirade of his social media posts in recent days.

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Prosecutors, in a legal filing Thursday, bolstered their arguments for a stiff sentence, saying the 36-year-old New York Republican has disparaged the U.S. Department of Justice as a “cabal of pedophiles” and cast himself as a victim of prosecutorial overreach in multiple posts on the social platform X.

“This conduct is antithetical to the ‘genuine remorse’ claimed by Santos’s attorneys,” prosecutors wrote. “His actions speak louder than any words, and they cry out for a significant carceral sentence in this case.”

Lawyers for Santos didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The social media blitz started April 4 after prosecutors and Santos’ lawyers submitted their sentencing memos to a judge for consideration during his April 25 sentencing in Long Island federal court.

“No matter how hard the DOJ comes for me, they are mad because they will NEVER break my spirit,” Santos wrote in one post.

In another exchange on X, he denied using campaign contributions to buy luxury goods from Hermès, which prosecutors note is conduct specifically mentioned in court documents.

“Even at this late stage, he simply refuses to fully own up to his actions,” they wrote in their Thursday filing, which included screenshots of the social media posts.

Prosecutors are seeking a seven year prison sentence for Santos, saying his “unparalleled crimes” had “made a mockery” of the country’s election system.

They’ve also suggested he has a “high likelihood of reoffending” given he has not forfeited any of his ill-gotten gains or repaid any of the victims.

Santos’ lawyers, meanwhile, have sought a two-year prison term, which is the mandatory minimum sentence for aggravated identity theft.

The lawyers argue that Santos has no prior criminal record and that such a sentence is in line with those handed to former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and other political figures who faced similar financial crimes.

Santos admitted in August that he duped voters, deceived donors and stole the identities of nearly a dozen people, including his own family members, to make donations to his congressional campaign.

As part of the plea deal, he agreed to pay nearly $375,000 in restitution and $205,000 in forfeiture.

Santos was elected in 2022 to represent parts of Queens and Long Island, but served barely a year in office before he was ousted by his House colleagues — the sixth ever in the chamber’s history.

The once-rising Republican’s political demise came after it was revealed that he had fabricated much of his life story, leading to questions about how the political unknown had funded his winning campaign.

Santos cast himself as a wealthy businessman who worked at prestigious Wall Street firms and held a valuable real estate portfolio when in reality he was struggling financially and even faced eviction.

Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER

NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione was indicted Thursday on a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a necessary step for prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

The indictment returned by a grand jury in Manhattan federal court also charges Mangione with two counts of stalking and a firearms count.

It was not immediately clear when the 26-year-old Mangione will be arraigned. A message seeking comment was left for a spokesperson for his lawyers.

Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, also faces separate state murder charges. He’s accused of shooting Thompson, 50, in the back outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4 as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced this month that she had directed federal prosecutors in Manhattan to seek the death penalty, following through on the president’s campaign promise to vigorously pursue capital punishment.

It’s the first death penalty case sought by the Justice Department since President Donald Trump returned to office in January with a vow to resume federal executions after they were halted under the previous administration.

The killing and ensuing five-day manhunt leading to Mangione’s arrest rattled the business community, with some health insurers hastily switching to remote work or online shareholder meetings.

It also galvanized health insurance critics — some of whom have rallied around Mangione as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills.

Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind. Police say the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase commonly used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

By TARA COPP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot was asked to resign this week, a senior defense official told The Associated Press on Thursday, in the latest shakeup for the Defense Department following firings and other changes under President Donald Trump.

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Ullyot was one of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s initial hires for the communications office and oversaw some of its most highly visible but controversial moves, including a broad edict to the military services to strip away online images and other content considered a promotion of diversity, equity or inclusion.

That directive, given under a wide-ranging Trump administration effort to purge so-called DEI content from federal agencies, led to public outcry when images of national heroes like Jackie Robinson were briefly removed.

Ullyot’s departure is the fourth this week among Hegseth’s former inner circle. Three other senior officials were escorted from the building this week after being implicated in an ongoing investigation into information leaks: Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; Darin Selnick, Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff; and Dan Caldwell, an aide to Hegseth.

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – MARCH 06: Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot listens as U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth answers a reporter’s question while meeting with UK Defense Secretary John Healey at the Pentagon with members of their respective teams on March 6, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. Healey is meeting with Hegseth to discuss a possible peace plan for Ukraine. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

It was not immediately clear what leaks led to the departures. Caldwell and Selnick had worked with the defense secretary during his time leading the nonprofit Concerned Veterans for America.

Under Hegseth, the communications office has made significant changes to how it works with Pentagon reporters, including removing many news outlets from their longtime workspaces and not yet holding weekly briefings.

Ullyot was transferred out of the communications office in late March following the blowback from the Pentagon’s purge of Robinson and a bungled public affairs response. Also, in his emailed responses to journalists, Ullyot referred to himself as the Pentagon press secretary. But Hegseth had hired Sean Parnell to speak for him from the Pentagon’s podium.

In an emailed response to the AP on Thursday, Ullyot said he told Hegseth when he was hired he “was not interested in being number two to anyone in public affairs” and that the understanding was always that he would stay only for about two months to help get the communications office up and running. When no other suitable position was found for him, Ullyot said he decided to resign.

But a senior defense official familiar with the decision said that wasn’t the case and that Hegseth’s office had requested that Ullyot resign.

Ullyot, who shared his resignation letter with AP, disputed the official’s account, calling it “flat out false and laughable.”

Ullyot’s resignation Wednesday was not tied to the inquiry into the unauthorized disclosures. Two other U.S. officials said Carroll, Selnick and Caldwell were placed on leave in that investigation.

All three officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not been made public.

The departures follow a purge of senior military officers, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown; Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti; National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command director Gen. Tim Haugh; and Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the U.S. military representative to the NATO Military Committee.

Seasons rule

The U.S. Senate’s ill-named Sunshine Protection Act is a third attempt at permanent Daylight Saving Time (DST). Haven’t fiascos, like in 1974, shown it’s misguided? DST delays morning sunlight, vital for our circadian rhythm, sleep and health. In Minnesota, winter sunrises would lag past 8 a.m. for over 100 days, some nearing 9 a.m. in the Twin Cities.

Misaligning clocks with nature doesn’t “save daylight” — it robs our biology by delaying that essential first light. No laws can change winter’s dark, cold, short days or summer’s bright, warm, long ones — seasons rule. DST is wrongly credited for summer’s late sunsets — a misconception risking public health. Standard time preserves our cherished later summer sunsets naturally. Stop this harmful policy. We need permanent standard time, not DST.

Chase Kassel, St. Paul

 

Thousands depend on these programs

Gov Walz and the DFL are attempting to cut $109 million in aid from private schools throughout the state. This aid pays for textbooks, standardized tests, health services, guidance counselors and other education materials. Charter schools stand to lose $40 million which would result in eliminating teachers who work with students on IEPs, mental health support and speech therapy.

Thousands of children depend on these programs. Has the DFL even developed a plan to address their needs?

Obviously we need to address the budget crisis.  So why are we spending $87 million then to subsidize free meals to the children of multimillionaires? That’s what should be cut.

Jim Piga, Mendota Heights

 

‘First they came’, updated

“First they came” is a constructed poem based on a speech by Pastor Martin Niemoller (1892-1984) to the Confessing Church (1946). In this speech Niemoller recognizes the complicity of German intellectuals and clergy with the Nazi regime. Niemoller was a Nazi supporter when Hitler came to power in 1932-33. In 1934 he joined with other clergymen like Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer to form the Confessing Church, a Protestant group opposed to the Nazis, but he still did not defend the Jews. He is an example of a Nazi supporter who gradually became disillusioned when the cruelty he had supported against others came too close to him. In this speech to his church he confesses that he did not defend others when it could actually have made a difference. Eventually he himself was incarcerated by the Nazis.

Here’s my version, for 2025:

First they came for lawyers who defended the law and the Constitution, and I did not speak out because I was not a lawyer.

Then they came for those who helped the government function, and I did not speak out because I was not a government worker.

Then they came for the media, and I did not speak out because I was not a writer or reporter.

Then they came for immigrants, and I did not speak out because I was not an immigrant.

Then they came for students who defended the weak and helpless, and I did not speak out because I was not a student.

Then they came for me, and it was too late.

Phyllis Ballata, St. Paul

 

Just another tax

What am I missing here? (“Tax on social media platforms is proposed.”) Let’s see, a tax proposed because our legislators are thinking of us poor, privacy-robbed Minnesotans, a tax that goes right to the heart of those mean social media companies. So out with their Daffy Duck quarter staff.

Ho! Ha ha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust! TAX! Take that, social media companies!

Social media, the little good it does, and there is a little, but the harms oh my. Because they are a privacy destructive force in this century where your data and mine down to the minutest detail is sold and re-sold to anyone who’ll buy, including government. Think of all the good this new tax will do to help alleviate that intrusive, downright creepy collection of our personal data.

What’s missing, of course, is YOU. AND. I. This isn’t meant to help us at all. It’s just another tax to help cover the expense of our bloated state government without concern of the people.

Julia Bell, St. Paul

See the pattern?

If you lose an election, claim the election was stolen. Convince your cult that only Republicans can win elections, and that if a Democrat wins they cheated.

If you are accused of a crime, claim the nation’s justice system is corrupt and out to get you. Convince your cult that only Democrats commit crimes.

If a judge (even those appointed by yourself or other Republican presidents) rules that your Executive Order has violated the Constitution, remove this judge and all others who don’t uphold your views.

If Congress abdicates its powers, proclaim tariffs to create a stock market collapse and tell your billionaire friends when to “buy low” so they can make more billions while the rest of your citizens lose most of their retirement savings.

If a university allows free speech protests that oppose your point of view, take all federal funding from that school and convince your cult that all legal foreign students who participated in the legal protests must be sent to foreign concentration camps or deported.

See the pattern?

Crush free speech and dissent, transform “diversity” and “compassion” into negatives, bully and blackmail anyone who doesn’t bow down to you, terminate all programs designed to help the most needy, manipulate the economy to enrich your friends, fire and destroy the lives of hard-working citizens — just because you can, and imprison all real and perceived threats to your power.

This is how things work in Russia, China, North Korea, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran — and now, the United States of America.

Nice company we are keeping.

George Kimball, White Bear Lake

 

And the debt continues to rise

Our country is $36 trillion in debt. Our president says we can’t continue on this course and on that we agree. We’re told we need “short term pain” to change this course. I would be totally willing to do that if it seemed any of this was actually being done to pay off this debt.

But it is clear this pain will only be to benefit the wealthy. Instead of a $4 trillion payment on the debt, the wealthy are getting a tax break. Instead of actual trade reform, the wealthy get insider trading tips and market manipulation to make millions.

And the debt continues to rise, just as it did during Trumps last term. We are being made fools of by a corrupt administration making money for itself, the country be damned.

Gloria Zaiger, St. Paul

 

Stand by DEI

The fight against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in schools by the Trump administration is morally wrong and confusing. The letter sent to states and school districts on April 3  is the latest effort by the zdministration to enforce compliance to their orders by way of threatening federal funding. The letter seemingly describes DEI programs as those that “advantage one’s race over another.” In reality, DEI allows groups who have been marginalized or historically discriminated against the chance to have equitable access. DEI is not about one group having an advantage, but rather ensuring equity and belonging for all. Despite the lack of a clear definition of what DEI is in the letter from the administration, or what constitutes “illegal DEI practices,” the consequences are specific and clear. This is the same formula this administration has been following since the start of the presidential term; create a new Executive Order that is purposefully unclear in order to create chaos, fear, and hopefully, compliance.

I am thankful for Willie Jett, the commissioner of Minnesota Department of Education, and for Minnesota’s continued commitment to DEI practices in education. An inclusive classroom, one that supports difficult conversations about diversity and biases, and ensures access for all students improves academic outcomes for all students. DEI programming in schools also contributes to an increase in critical thinking among students and an investment in community mutual aid (Kite & Clark, 2022). In other words, DEI benefits everyone. Isn’t that the overall goal of education; to support students in reaching their academic goals so they are prepared to be productive members of society? My hope as a parent is that my child can learn and grow in an environment that supports, encourages, celebrates, and includes all people. My hope as a Minnesotan is that we can continue to stand by DEI practices in schools and not waver in our stance should added pressure come.

Meghan Jackson, West St. Paul