Donald Trump said on Friday that he commuted the sentence of George Santos, releasing the disgraced former Republican congressman immediately.
In a Truth Social post, the president called Santos — who had been sentenced to more than seven years in prison this year after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft — “somewhat of a ‘rogue,’” but that “there are many rogues throughout our Country that aren’t forced to serve seven years in prison.”
Trump’s announcement arrives after Santos’s sycophantic letter to the president was published by local Long Island news outlet The South Shore Press.
“Sir, I appeal to your sense of justice and humanity — the same qualities that have inspired millions of Americans to believe in you,” wrote Santos in his plea for clemency, in which he described his living conditions in prison. “You have always been a man of second chances, a leader who believes in redemption and renewal. I am asking you now, from the depths of my heart, to extend that same belief to me.”
The president has granted a slew of pardons to political allies and loyalists in the months following his second term including issuing a blanket pardon and widespread clemency to 1,500 individuals who participated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — including offenders convicted of violent crimes. Trump also granted clemency to former GOP Rep. Michael Grimm, who pleaded guilty to felony tax fraud; former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, a Republican who was found guilty of political corruption charges and was convicted in two separate federal criminal cases; and reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley, who were convicted of conspiracy to defraud banks out of more than $30 million in 2022. The president also commuted the federal sentence of Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover, who was convicted of murder and then later several federal charges, and was serving a life sentence. (Hoover will still need to serve his sentence stemming from his state charges.)
“Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN! George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated,” wrote Trump on social media Friday. “Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!”
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Prosecutors claimed Santos spent donations to his 2022 campaign on non-campaign expenses including OnlyFans, Sephora, Hermès, spas, and Botox. They also say he committed identity theft by using donors’ credit cards without their knowledge.
Santos’ lies have marked his career, his education, and his personal life. The former House member falsely claimed that his grandparents survived the Holocaust and that his mother survived the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York City. A Navy veteran also accused him of refusing to give him funds from a GoFundMe campaign for his dying service dog.
