Trump Commutes Santos’ Prison Sentence, former Rep. gets immediate release
'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'
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WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump announced Friday evening that he had commuted the prison sentence of former Rep. George Santos, immediately releasing the New York Republican who was serving more than seven years for fraud and identity theft charges.
“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 wrote on Truth Social. “George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated. Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY.”
Santos was sentenced in April after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He had reported to Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, in southern New Jersey, on July 25. Trump’s decision came after multiple friends in both Congress and the administration making appeals for his clemency after reading about his treatment, 24sight News confirmed.
In a letter published Monday in the South Shore Press, Santos directly asked the president for clemency, writing: “You have always been a man of second chances, a leader who believes in redemption and renewal. I am asking you now, from the depths of my heart, to extend that same belief to me.”
Santos noted that he was being held in “complete isolation” following a death threat, writing: “Mr. President, I have nowhere else to turn.”
In the letter, Santos expressed his support for Trump’s agenda, writing: “During my short tenure in Congress, I stood firmly behind your agenda -- 100% of the time. I championed policies that strengthened our economy, defended our borders, and restored America’s standing on the world stage.”
GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) had publicly campaigned for his release, having been in contact with the Department of Justice in recent weeks. Greene thanked the president for the commutation on Friday, saying on X that Santos was “unfairly treated and put in solitary confinement, which is torture!!”
In his Truth Social post, Trump referenced Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal’s military service claims, writing that Blumenthal’s record “is far worse than what George Santos did, and at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!”
Santos became the first openly gay Republican elected to Congress in 2022, flipping a House seat representing parts of Queens and Long Island.
He served less than a year in office before being expelled from Congress in December 2023. Santos pleaded guilty in August 2024, admitting to claiming relatives had made contributions to his campaign when they had not, in an effort to meet fundraising thresholds to qualify for financial help from the National Republican Congressional Committee.
In a July podcast interview with Sources Say with Juliegrace, Santos had said he wasn’t seeking a full pardon, instead asking for a commutation and expressing fears for his life: “Don’t pardon me. Commute my sentence. I’ll pay if restitution is what they want, I’ll pay the restitution. Let me stay a felon. But seven years is a political sentence. It’s a death sentence, most likely for a gay man. Look at the statistics. That’s the truth.”
Trump’s announcement that he was nixing Santos’ criminal sentence was met with pushback from senior Democrats.
“Donald Trump has time to free serial fraudster George Santos from prison. But he can’t be bothered to address the Republican healthcare crisis crushing working class Americans,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a fellow New Yorker, replied on X.com. “The extremists are insulting you every single day.”
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Con artists gotta stick together, ya know.
Is this the comedic side of the lawless, godless Trump understanding of what Americans believe in? Fool me once? Fool me twice? Don't stop there. Commit crimes? No worry. Daddy Trump will excuse you as long as you kiss his ass. Eweeeee! I'm throwing up right now.