George Santos, who was expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives, arrives for the sentencing in his criminal corruption charges at Central Islip Federal Courthouse in Central Islip, New York, U.S., April 25, 2025.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Friday evening said he has commuted the prison sentence of George Santos, releasing the disgraced former Republican congressman immediately.
Santos “was somewhat of a ‘rogue,’ but there are many rogues throughout our Country that aren’t forced to serve seven years in prison,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Santos was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison this year after pleading guilty to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He began serving his sentence in late July.
The 37-year-old New York representative served in the House for less than a year before he was expelled from Congress amid a cloud of scandal in December 2023.
Even before he was sworn in, Santos admitted lying about key details of his life on the campaign trail. While in Congress, he was charged by the Department of Justice with an array of federal crimes including fraud, theft, money laundering and making false statements.
Trump, in his social media post Friday, said he began thinking about Santos after being reminded of Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who weathered heavy criticism during his 2010 Senate campaign for saying he had “served in Vietnam” when he had never deployed there.
Trump said earlier in October that Blumenthal “should be investigated, and Justice should be sought.”
Blumenthal said in 2010 that he had misspoken about his service on multiple occasions. On CNN last week, the senator said Trump’s accusations are “completely deceptive and distorted.”
Trump wrote Friday that Blumenthal’s record “is far worse than what George Santos did, and at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!”
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