Santos’ release from prison felt like Trump ‘stuck me in the gut with a knife’, alleged fraud victim says

<p>Richard Osthoff says commutation was not the first time Trump did something disrespectful to a military veteran</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2025/oct/21/donald-trump-republicans-white-house-ballroom-government-shutdown-troops-us-politics-live-news-updates">US politics live – latest updates</a></p></li></ul><p>A retired member of the US navy who alleges to have lost thousands of dollars meant for his dying dog when the Donald Trump-freed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/george-santos">George Santos</a> defrauded him says he now views the president as a “walking middle finger”.</p><p>Richard Osthoff’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l1TmPl_fI0&amp;list=PLDIVi-vBsOEzjfOEky76nwtmywxElUI_L&amp;index=3">emotional comments</a> on Monday on MSNBC’s Chris Jansing Reports came three days after Trump <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/17/trump-commuted-sentence-george-santos">commuted Santos’s seven-year, three-month prison sentence</a>, which was given to the former New York representative in connection with federal fraud charges.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/21/santos-release-prison-richard-osthoff">Continue reading...</a>