President Donald Trump announced Friday that he had commuted the sentence of former U.S. Rep. George Santos, who had been serving more than seven years in federal prison for fraud and identity theft.
Santos, a New York Republican, was sentenced in April after admitting to deceiving campaign donors and misappropriating the identities of 11 people, including family members, to fund his political efforts. He began serving his term at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey, on July 25, a minimum-security camp with fewer than 50 inmates.
“I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, framing the move as swift and decisive.
Calls for Clemency
Santos had sought intervention from the Trump administration shortly after his sentencing, claiming the punishment was politically motivated and excessive. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also advocated on his behalf, calling the sentence a “grave injustice” in a letter sent just days into Santos’ incarceration.
The presiding judge and federal prosecutors had argued for a harsher sentence, citing Santos’ lack of apparent remorse despite claims from him and his attorneys.
Trump’s History of Pardons and Commutations
Santos’ release marks another high-profile act of clemency by Trump since returning to the White House in January. In May, Trump pardoned former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, who had pleaded guilty to underreporting income from a Manhattan restaurant, and former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, whose political career ended after a corruption scandal.
Trump himself was convicted in a New York court last year in a case involving hush money payments, which he has repeatedly described as a politically motivated witch hunt.
Santos’ Controversial Career
Charged in 2023, Santos’ offenses included campaign fraud, identity theft, collecting unemployment benefits under false pretenses, and misleading Congress about his finances. He was expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives just months later, becoming only the sixth member in history to be ousted by his colleagues.
Santos pleaded guilty the following year, avoiding a trial but still facing a lengthy sentence before Trump’s intervention.
His commutation has reignited debate over the use of presidential clemency for political allies, underscoring Trump’s continued influence on Republican politics.
