Trump Commutes Sentence of Fraudster George Santos

President Trump said Friday he had commuted the sentence of former Rep. George Santos, who is serving more than seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud and identity theft charges. 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. Santos became just the sixth member of the US House to be expelled by his colleagues. "I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY," Trump posted on his social media platform, the AP reports.

Santos reported to Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, in southern New Jersey, on July 25 and is being housed in a minimum security prison camp with fewer than 50 inmates. Santos had appealed to the Trump administration to intercede within hours of receiving his sentence, insisting in social media posts and interviews that it was overly harsh and politically motivated. A former colleague, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, also urged Trump to commute his 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.

The judge in Santos' case had agreed with federal prosecutors that a stiffer sentence was warranted because Santos didn't seem remorseful, despite what he and his lawyers claimed. The commutation is Trump's latest high-profile act of clemency for former Republican politicians since retaking the White House in January. In May, he pardoned former US 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 career was upended by a corruption scandal and two federal prison stints. 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 House.