George Santos released from prison after Trump commutes sentence

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Disgraced former Congressman George Santos (R-N.Y.) was released from prison late Friday after President Donald Trump commuted the sentence for identity theft and wire fraud.

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Santos was released from prison Friday night, according to his lawyer, Joe Murray. Murray said he was taken in by his family.

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“George Santos was something of a 'crook,' but there are many crooks throughout our country who are not forced to serve seven years in prison,” Trump said in a social media post announcing the commutation. “That's why I just signed a commutation order releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a good life!”

Santos, who was expelled from the House of Representatives after being accused of financial irregularities and a litany of lies about his past, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. He had less than three months left to serve his sentence when his release was ordered.

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During his sentencing, prosecutors said that even after Santos pleaded guilty last year, he “repeatedly tried to shift the blame to others” and showed no genuine remorse. They asked for him to be jailed for 87 months, saying “a significant prison sentence is needed here” to deter him from further crimes and send a message to “other potential crooks.”

Prior to his release, Santos was held at FCI Fairton, a medium-security facility in New Jersey, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Santos' commutation is the latest high-profile pardon decision made by Trump. In one of his first acts after taking office for a second term, Trump pardoned or granted clemency to all rioters charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He also pardoned reality TV stars, a gang leader who built a powerful criminal enterprise, and a Connecticut governor ousted in a corruption scandal, among others.

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In May, he pardoned a sheriff who was convicted of federal bribery and fraud for accepting more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointing wealthy businessmen as unpaid auxiliary deputies.

Santos admitted to defrauding donors to his 2022 campaign by taking their money for personal use and charging thousands of dollars from their credit cards without permission, among other charges. He also admitted in court that he improperly claimed unemployment benefits for nearly a year and made false statements to Congress on his required disclosure statements in which he said he had millions of dollars in fabricated assets.

He had just been elected to Congress in 2022 when news reports began to expose the mass of lies he told about his past. He claimed to have attended schools he never attended: high school, college and business school. He said he worked for Wall Street firms Goldman Sachs and Citigroup; he didn't. He falsely stated that his mother was at the World Trade Center during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and that his grandparents fled the Holocaust.

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Throughout his legal battles and in the lead-up to his arrival in prison, Santos has expressed support for Trump, telling Politico that he “will not waver” in his support for him. In media appearances, Santos said he would accept a pardon or commutation from Trump and sought to find common ground with Trump, describing himself as a victim of political persecution.

“I am forever grateful to President Donald Trump,” said Matheus Santos, who identified himself as the former congressman’s husband.

Presidential commutations reduce sentences and may relieve a defendant of any obligation to pay fines or restitution. However, a commutation of sentence “does not change the fact of the conviction, does not imply innocence, and does not eliminate the civil rights that apply to a person convicted as a result of a criminal conviction,” according to the Department of Justice.

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The commutation of punishment for Santos, a polarizing figure in Congress whose expulsion had received significant support from fellow Republicans, drew criticism from Democrats and some Republicans.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called Santos a “serial cheater” and suggested Trump could make better use of his time addressing health care issues.

Former Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) called the commutation a “sign of corruption.” It's a message, he said on social media: “If you like me, you can get away with anything. If we take this for granted, our children will never forgive us.”

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), who had his sentence commuted for federal corruption in 2020 by Trump and then given a full pardon by Trump in 2025, said on Newsmax: “I know President Trump did right by me, I know he did right by Congressman Santos.”

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who sent a letter to the Justice Department in August, thanked Trump for his decision and said Santos was “not treated fairly.”

Santos' filing in federal court involved the fabrication of Federal Election Commission documents that Santos and his treasurer filed to claim campaign support from the national party committee. The campaign finance report contained records of non-existent significant donations from family members. The materials also falsely claimed that Santos loaned his campaign $500,000 at a time when he had $8,000 in his bank accounts, prosecutors said.

Santos wrote two articles for the South Shore Press, a local news outlet in New York, about his life in prison. In one article, he described how he was placed in solitary confinement.

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