NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday he has commuted the sentence of former U.S. Rep. George Santos, who would spend more than seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges of fraud and identity theft.
Joseph Murray, one of Santos' attorneys, 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 convicted 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 a bit of a 'villain,' but there are many villains in our country who were not forced to serve seven years in prison,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. He said he “just signed a commutation agreement IMMEDIATELY releasing George Santos from prison.”
“Good luck George, have a great life!” Trump said.
Santos' account on
During his time behind bars, Santos regularly wrote articles in a local newspaper on Long Island, mainly complaining about prison conditions.
However, in his latest letter, he made a direct case for Trump, citing his loyalty 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 Oct. 13 in The South Shore Press. “I humbly ask that you consider the unusual pain and hardship of this environment and grant me the opportunity to return to my family, my friends and my community.”
Santos' commutation is Trump's latest high-profile act of clemency toward 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 pleaded guilty in 2014 to underreporting wages and income at a restaurant he ran in Manhattan. He also pardoned former Connecticut Governor John Rowland, whose promising political career was marred by a corruption scandal and two federal prison sentences.
But by granting Santos clemency, Trump rewarded a figure who has earned scorn 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 he had fabricated much of his life story.
During his campaign, Santos had claimed he was a successful business consultant with a reputation on Wall Street and a significant real estate portfolio. But when his resume came under scrutiny, Santos ultimately admitted that he had never graduated from Baruch College — or been a standout player on the Manhattan College volleyball team, as he had claimed. He had never worked at Citigroup or Goldman Sachs.
He wasn't even Jewish. Santos insisted he meant he was “Jewish” because his mother's family had a Jewish background, even though he was raised Catholic.
In reality, the then 34-year-old was struggling financially and was even deported.
Santos was accused in 2023 of 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 Democrats, making Santos just the sixth member in the House's history to be impeached by colleagues.
Santos pleaded guilty when he stood 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 after his prison term that the sentence was “a grave injustice” and a product of judicial dominance.
Greene was among those cheering Friday's announcement. But U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota, a Republican who represents part of Long Island and has been highly critical of Santos, said in a social media post that Santos “wasn't just lying” and that his crimes “more than warrant a three-month prison sentence.”
“He should dedicate the rest of his life to repenting and making restitution to those he wronged,” LaLota said.
Santos' clemency appears to end not only his prison sentence, but also any “further fines, restitution, probation, supervised release or other conditions,” according to a copy of Trump's order posted on X by Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin.
As part of his guilty plea, Santos had agreed to pay restitution of $373,750 and forfeiture of $205,003.
In explaining the rationale for granting Santos clemency, Trump said the lies Santos told about himself were no worse than misleading statements made by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal — a Democrat and frequent critic of the administration — about his military record.
Blumenthal apologized 15 years ago for suggesting he served in Vietnam while in the U.S. Naval Reserve during the war.
“This is way worse than what George Santos did, and at least Santos had the courage, conviction and intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLIC!” Trump wrote.
The president himself was convicted last year by a New York court in a case involving hush money payments. He derided the case as part of a politically motivated witch hunt.
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Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak in New York and Susan Haigh in Connecticut contributed to this report.
