Disgraced former New York congressman and Republican George Santos may walk free after President Donald Trump called for his immediate release.
Trump announced via Truth Social that he commuted the former U.S. rep’s more-than seven-year prison sentence for fraud and identity theft, and said that Santos would be freed immediately.
“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 said in the post.
“Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY,” he added.
According to a USA Today report, many of his fellow congressional Republicans were harshly critical of Santos. New York Rep. Mike Lawler said Santos was a “sociopath” who “defrauded voters and donors” adding that “the evidence was overwhelming.”
Georgia representative, far-right Republican and recent Trump Administration critic Marjorie Taylor Greene came out in support of Santos in August, calling for his pardon in a letter to Trump requesting the president commute the disgraced former congressman’s sentence.
Who is George Santos?
George Santos, 37, is a former U.S. Representative for New York’s third congressional district, which includes parts of Queens and Long Island, from January to December of 2023, when he was expelled by Congress in a 311-114 vote in the House of Representatives.
During his campaign, Santos falsely claimed he attended New York University, worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and that his grandparents had fled the Nazis during World War II.
Santos is the first openly gay Republican elected to Congress as a freshman.
What did George Santos plead guilty to?
Santos pleaded guilty in August 2024 to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft according to the United States Attorney’s Office.
The counts Santos pleaded guilty to related to numerous criminal schemes, the Eastern District of New York said, including a “Party Program Scheme” in which Santos and Nancy Marks, who also pleaded guilty to related charges, “devised and executed a fraudulent scheme to obtain money for the campaign by submitting materially false reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), in which they inflated the campaign’s fundraising numbers for the purpose of misleading the FEC, a national party committee, and the public.”
Other schemes Santos pleaded guilty to included a credit card fraud scheme, fraudulent political contribution solicitation scheme, unemployment insurance fraud, and making false statements to the house of representatives.
Santos was sentenced in April by U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert at the federal courthouse in Central Islip to 87 months, the Eastern District of New York said in a news release.
“As part of the sentence,” the release reads. “Santos was ordered to pay restitution to his victims in the amount of $373,749.97 and $205,002.97 in forfeiture.”
Santos reported to the Federal Correctional Institution Flatiron Satellite Camp in New Jersey on July 25 to begin his seven-year prison sentence. While Trump on Friday called for his immediate release, when that would occur remained unclear at the time of publication.
Contributing: USA TODAY’s Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Reuters
(this story was updated with new information)
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Trump commutes sentence of former Long Island congressman George Santos
Reporting by Ashley Catherine Fontones, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
