George Santos released from prison after Trump commutes sentence

Disgraced former congressman George Santos (R-New York) was released from prison late Friday after President Donald Trump commuted his sentence for identity theft and wire fraud.

Santos was released from prison Friday night, according to his attorney, Joe Murray. His family picked him up, Murray said.

“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,” said Trump in a social media post announcing the commutation. “Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!”

Santos, who was expelled from the House after being accused of financial misconduct and telling myriad lies about his background, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. He was less than three months into his sentence when his release was ordered.

Prosecutors said at the time of his sentencing that even after pleading guilty last year, Santos “repeatedly attempted to shift blame onto others” and showed no genuine remorse. They had asked for him to be imprisoned for 87 months, saying that “a significant prison sentence is needed here” to deter him from further misdeeds and send a message “to other would-be fraudsters.”

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

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

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

He had just been elected to Congress in 2022 when news reports began exposing a slew of lies he had told about his background. He claimed to have studied at educational institutions he never attended for high school, college and business school. He said he worked at the Wall Street firms Goldman Sachs and Citigroup; he did not. He falsely said that his mother was inside the World Trade Center during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and that his grandparents fled the Holocaust.

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

“I am forever grateful to President Donald Trump,” said Matheus Santos, who has identified has the ex-congressman’s husband.

Presidential commutations reduce sentences and can release a defendant’s obligations to pay fines or restitution. However, a commuted sentence “does not change the fact of conviction, imply innocence, or remove civil disabilities that apply to the convicted person as a result of the criminal conviction,” according to the Department of Justice.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) called Santos a “serial fraudster” and suggested Trump could be better using his time to address health care.

Former congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois) called the commutation “a feature of corruption.” It is a message, he said on social media, “if you like me you can get away with anything. If we accept this as ok our kids will never forgive us.”

Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich (D), who had his own federal corruption conviction commuted by Trump in 2020 and was then pardoned fully by Trump in 2025, said on Newsmax, “I know President Trump did the right thing with me, I’m sure he did the right thing with Congressman Santos as well.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), who sent a letter to the Department of Justice in August, thanked Trump for his decision and said Santos was “unfairly treated.”

Santos’s federal court plea covered the fabrication of Federal Election Commission filings that Santos and his treasurer submitted to qualify for campaign support from a national party committee. The campaign finance reporting contained entries of nonexistent, significant donations from family members. The submissions also falsely claimed that Santos loaned his campaign $500,000 at a time when he had $8,000 in his bank accounts, according to prosecutors.