President Donald Trump on Friday announced commuting the sentence of former Congressman George Santos, who served more than seven years in federal prison for fraud and identity theft.
Santos, a New York Republican, was convicted in April after admitting to defrauding campaign donors and misusing the identities of 11 people, including family members, to fund his political activities. He began serving his sentence on July 25 at the Federal Correctional Facility in Fairton, New Jersey, a minimum-security camp with fewer than 50 inmates.
“I am signing a commutation of sentence and releasing Mr. George Santos immediately,” President Trump said on his social media platforms, calling the action swift and decisive.
ask for leniency
Immediately after the sentencing, Santos called for the Trump administration to intervene, arguing that the punishment was politically motivated and excessive. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also advocated on Santos’ behalf, calling the sentence a “gross injustice” in a letter sent just days after Santos’ incarceration.
The presiding judge and federal prosecutors had argued for a harsher sentence, citing a clear lack of remorse, despite arguments from Santos and his lawyers.
Trump’s history of pardons and reductions
Santos’ release marks another high-profile act of clemency by Trump since returning to the White House in January. In May, President Trump pardoned former Congressman Michael Grimm, who pleaded guilty to underreporting income from a Manhattan restaurant, and former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, whose political career was ended in a corruption scandal.
Trump himself was convicted in a New York court last year in a hush-money case, which he has repeatedly described as a politically motivated witch hunt.
Santos’ controversial career
Santos’ charges in 2023 included campaign fraud, identity theft, collecting unemployment benefits under a false name and misleading Congress about finances. He was expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives just months later, becoming the sixth member in history to be expelled by a colleague.
Santos pleaded guilty the following year, avoiding a trial but facing a lengthy prison term before President Trump intervened.
His resignation reignited debate over the president’s use of pardons for political allies and underscored Trump’s continued influence over Republican politics.
Source: Gayety – gayety.com
