NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday he had commuted the sentence of former U.S. Rep. George Santos, who was slated to serve more than seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud and identity theft charges.
Joseph Murray, one of Santos’ lawyers, told The Associated Press late Friday that the former lawmaker was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey, around 11 p.m., and was greeted outside the facility by his family.
The New York Republican was sentenced in April after admitting last year to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people — including his own family members — to make donations to his campaign.
He reported to FCI Fairton on July 25 and was housed in a minimum security prison camp with fewer than 50 other inmates.
“George Santos was somewhat of a ‘rogue,’ but there are many rogues throughout our Country that aren’t forced to serve seven years in prison," Trump posted on his social media platform. He said he had “just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY.”
"Good luck George, have a great life!” Trump said.
Santos’ account on X, which has been active throughout his roughly 84 days in prison, reposted a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post Friday.
During his time behind bars, Santos has been writing regular dispatches in a local newspaper on Long Island, in which he mainly complained about the prison conditions.
In his latest letter, though, he pleaded to Trump directly, citing his fealty to the president's agenda and to the Republican Party.
“Sir, I appeal to your sense of justice and humanity — the same qualities that have inspired millions of Americans to believe in you," he wrote in The South Shore Press on Oct. 13. "I humbly ask that you consider the unusual pain and hardship of this environment and allow me the opportunity to return to my family, my friends, and my community.”
Santos’ commutation is Trump’s latest high-profile act of clemency for former Republican politicians since retaking the White House in January.
In late May, he pardoned former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, a New York Republican who in 2014 pleaded guilty to underreporting wages and revenue at a restaurant he ran in Manhattan. He also pardoned former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, whose promising political career was upended by a corruption scandal and two federal prison stints.
But in granting clemency to Santos, Trump was rewarding a figure who has drawn scorn from within his own party.
After becoming the first openly gay Republican elected to Congress in 2022, Santos served less than a year after it was revealed that he had fabricated much of his life story.
On the campaign trail, Santos had claimed he was a successful business consultant with Wall Street cred and a sizable real estate portfolio. But when his resume came under scrutiny, Santos eventually admitted he had never graduated from Baruch College — or been a standout player on the Manhattan college’s volleyball team, as he had claimed. He had never worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.
He wasn’t even Jewish. Santos insisted he meant he was “Jew-ish” because his mother’s family had a Jewish background, even though he was raised Catholic.
In truth, the then-34-year-old was struggling financially and even faced eviction.
Santos was charged in 2023 with stealing from donors and his campaign, fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits and lying to Congress about his wealth.
Within months, he was expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives -- with 105 Republicans joining with Democrats to make Santos just the sixth member in the chamber’s history to be ousted by colleagues..
Santos pleaded guilty as he was set to stand trial.
Still, a prominent former House colleague, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, urged the White House to commute Santos’ sentence, saying in a letter sent just days into his prison bid that the punishment was “a grave injustice” and a product of judicial overreach.
Greene was among those who cheered the announcement Friday. But U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota, a Republican who represents part of Long Island and has been highly critical of Santos, said in a post on social media that Santos “didn’t merely lie” and his crimes “warrant more than a three-month sentence.”
“He should devote the rest of his life to demonstrating remorse and making restitution to those he wronged,” LaLota said.
Santos’ clemency appears to clear not just his prison term, but also any “further fines, restitution, probation, supervised release, or other conditions,” according to a copy of Trump’s order posted on X by Ed Martin, the Justice Department’s pardon attorney.
As part of his guilty plea, Santos had agreed to pay restitution of $373,750 and forfeiture of $205,003.
In explaining his reason for granting Santos clemency, Trump said the lies Santos told about himself were no worse than misleading statements U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal -- a Democrat and frequent critic of the administration -- had made about his military record.
Blumenthal apologized 15 years ago for implying that he served in Vietnam, when he was stateside in the Marine Reserve during the war.
“This is far worse than what George Santos did, and at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!” Trump wrote.
The president himself was convicted in a New York court last year in a case involving hush money payments. He derided the case as part of a politically motivated witch hunt.
Some may not agree but, serving only three months of a seven-year sentence is not serving Justice.
I doubt DJT did it without getting something out of the deal, most likely information that he can use against others that may have been involved in the scam....
Trump commutes sentence of former US Rep. George Santos in federal fraud case
Some may not agree but, serving only three months of a seven-year sentence is not serving Justice.
Rams
I think in context, his 7-year sentence was very extreme. He's guilty of "deceiving voters," which is not actually what he was charged with. Everything he was charged with, relates to the 11 identities that he stole. That resulted in things like wire fraud, or making false statements on a financial document, etc. And when we say stole, he made donations under those names to his campaign, but from money that was his own (about $12k if I remember correctly).
This, on the face of it, is something that essentially happens all the time from nearly every campaign. Definitely not saying it's right, but to be charged with this is like going to jail for 6 months for rolling through a stop sign. You look at Act Blue, and there are 10s of thousands of fake names and donations made under people's names without consent for millions of dollars (in total), and no one has gone to jail.
The only other crime, which is not Federal, but a state crime, was the unemployment money he got. Not all of it was fraudulent, but in total over a year, he ended up with about $25k in unemployment money, of which probably $20k of it was fraudulent (he had a job at that point). Normally, you are required to pay back the money, and banned from future benefits of this nature. But jail time is exceptionally rare, and it's only ever been for cases where there's a concerted fraud scheme that involves multiple players and multiple people committing fraud and funneling it up to say, a ring leader.
In reality, a "just" sentencing should have been probation, and paying back the money that was fraudulently gained.
That's where this gets inappropriate... they wanted him out. You can have a conviction and still have your House seat. It had bipartisan support because the Republicans wanted someone compliant in that seat that would play ball and not embarass the party, and Democrats were only too happy to help get a Republican removed from the House.
He's a horrible congressman, and really exemplifies the worst of what most congressmen and women actually do, but hide better. But stacking the crimes in the way that they did just to get him out of office so they could replace him, is just as bad in my mind as the stuff Trump went through.
Make no mistake... I'm glad the guy is out, but it was a bastardization of justice to seek maximum penalties for all of the things he was convicted of. There is absolutely no precedent at all for any of the jail time he faced. So the commutation is well justified in my opinion. It was a bastardization of the judicial system.
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: ... Everything he was charged with, relates to the 11 identities that he stole. That resulted in things like wire fraud, or making false statements on a financial document, etc. And when we say stole, he made donations under those names to his campaign, but from money that was his own (about $12k if I remember correctly).
Thanks for the clarification. I was a bit bent when I read that he wouldn't have to pay back any restitution. In reality, it appears that he stole from the taxpayers, at large. NOT from private individuals. (Yeah. I know... ) Still not acceptable, but as you said, not worthy of an extended jail term.
I am with Todd on this one. He made campaign contributions to his campaign in other people's names. That is not identity theft in any way that people understand it. A scumbag stole my sister's purse years ago. They used her ID to get credit cards and to cash bad checks. It took years to undo the damage. That is identity theft.
What Santos did is bad but it is nowhere near 7 years in federal prison bad.
I am with Todd on this one. He made campaign contributions to his campaign in other people's names. That is not identity theft in any way that people understand it. A scumbag stole my sister's purse years ago. They used her ID to get credit cards and to cash bad checks. It took years to undo the damage. That is identity theft.
What Santos did is bad but it is nowhere near 7 years in federal prison bad.
I won't suggest that seven years was or wasn't appropriate, that's what was decided on. Do I think it's a bit harsh, maybe but, I don't know what limitations or requirements of the sentences is/was. What I do believe is that commuting his sentence three months into his whole sentence is not serving justice. Is the story of him being in solitary true and if so, why? He is openly gay, maybe he was separated to keep him safe, I don't know but I doubt it was to keep him from starting fights and hurting others. BTW, the prison he was assigned to was a medium-security prison. He wasn't out on a chain gang making little rocks out of big rocks. Just my opinion(s).
Edited: Saw an interview last night with Santos, he said he was placed in Solitary Confinement for 41 days by the warden because of a assassination threat.
Rams
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 10-21-2025).]
(Not that either person is right.)
) Still not acceptable, but as you said, not worthy of an extended jail term.
