Poli Alert Politics & Civics
Related Articles
President Donald Trump said Friday that he had signed a commutation order immediately releasing former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., from prison, calling his treatment “horrible” and “unfair.”
“George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Therefore, I just signed a commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!”
Santos, who was sentenced in April to more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, was freed Friday evening. Prosecutors said he had engaged in a yearslong scheme to defraud donors, campaign committees and even family members to enrich himself.
Santos’ attorney said his client was “appreciative” of Trump’s decision. “His husband is picking him up right now, and he is overjoyed and thankful to Mr. Trump for the compassion he exhibited,” the attorney told NBC News.
A senior White House official said Trump made the decision earlier this week after receiving “overwhelming” appeals from allies.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who had publicly lobbied for clemency, called Santos’ punishment excessive. “George Santos never raped anybody, never murdered anybody, is not a child sex-trafficker. Why is he in solitary confinement?” she said. Greene began urging a pardon after learning Santos had spent more than a month in isolation.
Santos, 36, reported to a federal prison in Fairton, New Jersey, in July. He had requested solitary confinement before serving his sentence, writing online that he “refuse[d] to lose [his] dignity in any way, shape, or form.”
The former congressman’s brief but turbulent career in politics began with an upset win in 2022 and unraveled amid revelations that he had fabricated large parts of his biography. Following a blistering House Ethics Committee report that accused him of stealing campaign funds for personal use, the House voted to expel him in December 2023 — less than a year into his term.
Trump has wielded his clemency powers aggressively in his second term, including a sweeping Day One pardon for about 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. He has also granted clemency to figures in both parties, including former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, ex-Rep. Michael Grimm of New York and former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland.
In his post Friday, Trump downplayed Santos’ fabrications, calling him “a rogue” but “not as bad as Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.,” who apologized in 2010 for misstating his Vietnam-era service. Blumenthal responded: “There’s no excuse for commuting George Santos’ sentence.”
Two New York Republicans who voted to expel Santos also criticized the commutation.
Rep. Andrew Garbarino said serving only a few months of a seven-year sentence “is not justice.” Rep. Nick LaLota said Santos “stole millions, defrauded an election, and his crimes warrant more than a three-month sentence.”
“George Santos should devote the rest of his life to demonstrating remorse and making restitution,” LaLota said.
