Esther Imonmion
U.S. President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of George Santos, the former Republican congressman who was serving seven years in prison for fraud and identity theft.
In a post on social media on Friday night, Trump said Santos had been “horribly mistreated,” adding: “Therefore, I just signed a commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!”
Santos, who began serving his sentence in July at a minimum-security facility in New Jersey, was released late Friday, according to U.S. media reports.
The disgraced lawmaker was only the sixth in U.S. history to be expelled from Congress, following a damning ethics report in 2023. He had admitted to stealing the identities of 11 people, including members of his own family.
“God bless President Donald J. Trump,” said one of Santos’s attorneys, Joseph Murray, after the announcement.
When Santos was sentenced in April, the judge told him, “You got elected with your words, most of which were lies.” Santos reportedly wept in court, saying, “I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead.”
Prosecutors said the New York congressman lied about his background and misused campaign funds to support a lavish lifestyle. A House ethics panel found that he had spent campaign money on personal indulgences, including Botox and subscriptions to the OnlyFans website.
Trump defended his decision by drawing comparisons to Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, whom he accused of fabricating details about his military service. “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.
Santos’s political career unraveled in 2022 after a New York Times investigation revealed he had falsified large parts of his résumé, including claims of working at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, and holding a university degree. Further allegations followed — including that he stole money from a fundraiser for a dying dog and lied about his mother surviving the 9/11 attacks.
He was indicted on 23 federal felony charges and, in 2023, became the first member of Congress in more than two decades to be expelled.
Earlier this week, Santos had written an open letter to Trump in the South Shore Press of Long Island, pleading for clemency and expressing remorse. “Mr President, I am not asking for sympathy. I am asking for fairness — for the chance to rebuild,” he wrote.
Trump has granted clemency to two other former Republican officials since returning to office in January. In May, he pardoned ex-congressman Michael Grimm, convicted of tax crimes in 2014, and former Connecticut Governor John Rowland, who pleaded guilty in 2004 to corruption and fraud charges.
Unlike a full pardon, a commutation does not erase a criminal conviction.