President Trump said Friday he commuted former New York Republican Congressman George Santos’ prison sentence for fraud.
In a post on Truth Social, the president said Santos has been “horribly mistreated” in prison and will be released immediately.
Santos surrendered himself to a federal prison in New Jersey on July 25 to start serving a more than seven-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft charges.
The ex-Long Island congressman has been held at the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton. In April, he was sentenced to 87 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay $373,949.97 in fines and restitution.
“George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated. Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!” the president’s post said.’
CBS News has learned Santos will no longer have to pay that restitution to his victims.
“I am forever grateful to President Trump for seeing the human side of the suffering that Congressman Santos went through. He was in solitary confinement and protective custody due to threats against his life. I am grateful that President Trump saw the humanity and did the right thing for the Congressman,” Santos’ attorney Joseph Murray said in a statement.
In a subsequent statement, Murray went on to thank Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Lauren Boebert, Rep. Tim Burchett and former Congressman Matt Gaetz, among others.
Murray told CBS News that Santos was released from federal prison around 11 p.m. on Friday.
George Santos, former Representative from New York, arrives at federal court in Central Islip, New York, US, on Friday, April 25, 2025. Former US Representative George Santos should be sentenced to more than seven years in prison for committing fraud while campaigning for Congress, federal prosecutors said.
Yuki Iwamura / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Santos releases public statement following release
Santos posted his first public statement since his release Saturday evening on X, saying he is “back as a new man, ready to work and do good.”
“Yesterday, I was given something I never thought I’d have again: a true second chance at life. A chance to grow, to change, and to walk a better path,” he wrote.
He said he spoke with Mr. Trump on Saturday, calling it “a conversation I will never forget.”
“In that moment, I saw not only the strength of a great leader, but the heart of a man who believes in mercy, in redemption, and in the promise that America gives everyone, the promise of a second chance,” Santos wrote.
He thanked the president for “his kindness, his humanity and his generosity” and his friends for their support and advocacy.
“I also want to make one thing clear: I hold no anger toward anyone, not even my critics. I move forward with humility, with gratitude, and with peace in my heart. Life is too short to waste on bitterness or vengeance,” Santos wrote. “There will be no revenge, no retribution. We are all Americans, and at the end of the day, we all want the same thing, a better, fairer country for everyone.”
Santos said he plans to focus on prison reform and accountability as he moves forward.
“As I step into this next chapter of my life, I do so with lessons learned and eyes open. I do not carry shame, I carry purpose. My goal now is to turn my past into something meaningful, to help create a justice system that truly believes in rehabilitation and second chances,” he wrote.
Santos’ crimes and sentencing
Santos was elected to serve New York’s 3rd congressional district in 2022. The next year, he was expelled from Congress after a House Ethics Committee report found “substantial evidence” he violated the law.
Congressman Nick LaLota, another Long Island Republican, who called Santos “an embarrassment,” and fought to get him thrown out of office, said he deserved to stay in prison longer.
“George Santos didn’t merely lie — he stole millions, defrauded an election, and his crimes (for which he pled guilty) warrant more than a three-month sentence. He should devote the rest of his life to demonstrating remorse and making restitution to those he wronged,” LaLota posted on social media Friday.
Santos was accused of exaggerating or lying about parts of his backstory shortly after his election. He was charged with defrauding voters and donors in his district, which includes Nassau County and parts of Queens.
Accusations against him ranged from falsely claiming he was a multi-millionaire to forging a diploma from Baruch College. He was also accused of soliciting donations to a fictitious nonprofit and engaging in credit card fraud to steal from elderly and cognitively impaired donors.
After his sentencing, Santos released a lengthy statement on social media that said, in part, “I believe that 7 years is an over the top politically influenced sentence and I implore that President Trump gives me a chance to prove I’m more than the mistakes I’ve made.”
A commutation is not a pardon, so Santos’ record will not be wiped clean.