Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence of former New York congressman George Santos, ordering his immediate release after serving less than three months of an 87-month federal sentence.
In a social media post Friday evening, Trump called Santos “somewhat of a rogue” but argued his punishment for financial crimes was excessive. He also said he was influenced by reports that Santos had been held in solitary confinement and “horribly mistreated” while in custody.
“Therefore, I just signed a commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote. “Good luck George, have a great life!”
Santos, 37, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Along with wiping out the remainder of his sentence, the commutation also lifts more than $370,000 in court-ordered restitution, according to a copy of the order shared online by U.S. pardon attorney Ed Martin. The commutation does not erase his convictions.
The move is the latest in a string of clemency actions by Trump favoring political allies and right-wing personalities. Until now, it appeared Santos would not receive such relief, even as Trump handed out full pardons to dozens of people charged in connection with the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Santos’ rapid fall from power — and his unexpected return to the headlines — caps one of the most bizarre political trajectories in recent memory.
Elected in 2022, Santos was initially celebrated by Republicans as a young, gay, Brazilian American conservative from Long Island who reflected a shifting party identity. But before he even took office, The New York Times and other outlets exposed a trail of fabrications: he falsely claimed Jewish heritage, said his mother survived 9/11 in the World Trade Center, and touted Wall Street credentials that didn’t exist. He also claimed to have loaned his own campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars — money investigators later determined was not his.
As more falsehoods surfaced, Republicans distanced themselves. A House Ethics Committee investigation later found he had misused campaign donations for luxury goods, travel, cosmetics, and purchases on OnlyFans. In December 2023, in a rare bipartisan vote, more than 100 Republicans joined Democrats to expel him from Congress.
Santos continued to deny wrongdoing publicly, but less than a year later he pleaded guilty to multiple felonies, including lying to Congress, defrauding campaign donors, and illegally collecting unemployment benefits.
Trump’s decision appears to have been influenced by lobbying from allies such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who celebrated the announcement Friday night.
“THANK YOU President Trump for releasing George Santos!!” she posted.
Greene had urged the Justice Department to grant clemency in August. At the time, Trump hinted he might intervene, saying of Santos, “He lied like hell. And I didn’t know him, but he was 100 percent for Trump.”
While incarcerated at a federal facility in southern New Jersey, Santos began writing a recurring column for The South Shore Press, a Long Island outlet. He claimed he had been placed in the “Special Housing Unit” — commonly used for solitary confinement — after reporting a death threat through his attorney. Greene also said she received a letter from him describing his isolation.
On Monday, the South Shore Press published a direct plea from Santos to the president.
“Mr. President, I have nowhere else to turn,” he wrote. “You have always been a man of second chances… I am asking you now, from the depths of my heart, to extend that same belief to me.”
Neither Santos nor his attorney responded immediately to requests for comment following the commutation. Without Trump’s intervention, he was not scheduled to be released until September 2031.
The White House did not say whether Santos will face any post-release supervision. He remains a convicted felon and is not pardoned.