Trump commutes George Santos’ prison sentence: NPR

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he had commuted the prison sentence of George Santos, the disgraced New York Republican who was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for a litany of crimes after being expelled from the House on charges of stealing money from campaign donors.

Trump made the announcement Friday in a post on Truth Social, saying he had signed a commutation to immediately release Santos from prison.

“George Santos was something of a ‘thug,’ but there are plenty of thugs throughout our country who do not have to serve seven years in prison,” Trump wrote.

Santos, a staunch Trump supporter, pleaded guilty in 2024 to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors said Santos was responsible for a “mountain of lies, theft and fraud” aimed at enriching himself and deceiving campaign donors. He began his sentence in July of this year at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey.

Shortly after Santos’ election in 2020, reports that he had fabricated many aspects of his identity began to spread. He later admitted to lying about his education, employment and upbringing. Santos had still been sworn into Congress in 2022 despite inconsistencies raised regarding his background and campaign financing.

His lies would catch up with him less than a year into his term. In 2023, the House voted 311-114 to remove him from office. Nearly all Democrats and more than 100 Republicans voted to expel Santos.

The vote made Santos the sixth representative to be expelled from the chamber, but the first to be expelled without being convicted of a crime. At the time of his deportation, Santos faced 23 criminal charges.

Trump compared Santos’ crimes to claims made by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, more than 15 years ago about his military service. Blumenthal previously admitted to “talking poorly” about his service in Vietnam. Blumenthal served six years in the Marine Reserve starting in 1970, but none of that time was spent overseas.

“This is way worse than what George Santos did, and at least Santos had the courage, conviction and intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!” Trump wrote.

So far in his second term, Trump has issued a series of high-profile pardons and commutations. He has pardoned overall more than 1,500 people accused of acts related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was also pardoned after being convicted of a series of corruption-related crimes, including trying to sell a U.S. Senate seat vacated by former President Barack Obama. Trump commuted Blagojevich’s 14-year prison sentence during his first term.