President Donald Trump said Friday night that he signed a commutation that will “immediately” free scandal-plagued former congressman George Santos from prison.
Santos, 37, was less than three months into a seven-year sentence in federal prison after being convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
In a social media post, Trump said Santos, whom he called “a little ‘rogue,'” had the “courage, conviction and intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICANS.”
Former Congressman George Santos leaves the Alfonse D’Amato Federal Courthouse after being sentenced, April 25, 2025, in Central Islip. New York.
Howard Schnapp/Newsday RM via Getty Images
“Jorge has been in solitary confinement for long periods of time and, from all indications, has been horribly mistreated. Therefore, I have just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. “Good luck George, have a great life!” Trump said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, which successfully prosecuted Santos, had no comment.
According to the grant of leniency, a photo of which was published in
An attorney for Santos told ABC News as he headed to federal prison that they expect him to be released Friday night, but are awaiting official word.
The lawyer said Martin and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche were a big help in getting the commutation over the finish line, and noted that several members of Congress, including Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and Tim Burchett, were very aggressive in campaigning for her release.
Santos pleaded guilty to a series of fraud offenses and was sentenced in April to 87 months in prison (the maximum he faced) and two years of supervised release.
The commutation comes days after South Shore Press published a “passionate plea” from Santos to Trump, in which he expressed his support and asked that the president “allow me the opportunity to return to my family, my friends and my community.”
“During my brief term in Congress, I strongly supported your agenda, 100% of the time,” Santos wrote in the letter published Monday. “I will defend policies that strengthened our economy, defended our borders, and restored America’s standing on the world stage. I did so with pride, sir, because I believed, and continue to believe, in the mission you set out to fulfill for the American people.”
Santos said in the letter that he was being held in “complete isolation” following an alleged death threat.
“Mr. President, I have no one to turn to. You have always been a man of second chances, a leader who believes in redemption and renewal. I ask you now, from the bottom of my heart, to extend that same belief to me,” he wrote.
Rep. Greene, who had recently called on Trump to commute Santos’ sentence, thanked the president for doing so on Friday. saying in X that the former congressman was “unfairly treated and placed in solitary confinement, which is torture!!”
Santos pleaded guilty in August 2024, admitting to claiming that family members had made contributions to his campaign when, in fact, they had not. Santos admitted that he was trying to meet the fundraising threshold to qualify for financial aid from the National Republican Congressional Committee.
He also stipulated that he committed other frauds, including charging donors’ credit cards without authorization and convincing donors to donate money by falsely claiming the money would be used for television advertisements. He also stipulated that he stole public money by applying for and receiving unemployment benefits to which he was not entitled during the pandemic.
As part of his plea deal, he agreed to pay nearly $600,000 in restitution and forfeiture.
Representative George Santos waits for the start of a session in the House of Representatives in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2023.
Alex Brandon/AP, FILE
Santos was expelled from Congress in December 2023, just under a year after taking office to represent New York’s 3rd congressional district.
His expulsion from Congress followed allegations of ethics violations and other irregularities in a scathing report by the House Ethics Committee that alleged he was a fabulist and con artist who used the prestige of political office to swindle tens of thousands of dollars from others.
Lalee from ABC News, Aaron Katersky and Rachel Scott contributed to this report.
