Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he had commuted the sentence issued against the former US Representative.George SantosfromservesMore than seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud and identity theft charges.
The New York Republican was sentenced in April after pleading guilty last year to defrauding donors and stealing the identities of 11 people — including his family members — to make donations to his campaign.
heIt has been reportedFederal Correctional Institution in Fairton, southern New Jersey, on July 25, being housed in a maximum security prison camp with fewer than 50 other inmates.
“I have just signed a commutation agreement to release George Santos from prison immediately,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
Santos had appealed to the Trump administration to intervene within hours of receiving his sentence, insisting in his social media postsInterviewsIt was extremely cruel and politically motivated.
Former Distinguished Fellow in the House of Representatives, U.S. Rep.Marjorie Taylor GreeneHe also urged the White House to commute his sentence, saying in a letter sent just days after he tried to jail him that the sentence was a “gross injustice” and the product of judicial overreach.
The judge in Santos’ case agreed with federal prosecutors that a harsher sentence was needed because Santos did not appear remorseful, despite his and his lawyer’s claims.
Commuting Santos’ sentence is Trump’s latest high-profile decisionAn act of compassionof former Republican politicians since reclaiming the White House in January.
In late May, he pardoned the former US Representative.Michael Grimma New York Republican who in 2014 pleaded guilty to underreporting wages and revenues at a restaurant he managed in Manhattan.
He also pardoned the former governor of Connecticut.John Rowlandwhose promising political career was upended by a corruption scandal and two stints in federal prison.
It was Trump himselfHe was convicted in a New York courtLast year in a case involving payment for silence. He derided the case as part of a politically motivated witch hunt.
Santos was once a rising star of the Republican Party.
He became the first openly gay Republican elected to Congress in 2022, flipping a House seat representing parts of Queens and Long Island.
But Santos served less than a year in office after it emerged that he had fabricated much of his life story, which in turn led to…InvestigationsAbout how the then-little-known politician financed his winning campaign.
Santos, the son of Brazilian immigrants, claimed to be a successful business consultant with credibility on Wall Street and a large real estate portfolio.
He eventually admitted that he had never graduated from Baruch College, or been a standout player on the Manhattan College volleyball team, as he claimed. He has not previously worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.
It wasn’tEven Judaism. Santos insisted he meant “Jewish” because his mother’s family had a Jewish background, even though he was raised Catholic.
In fact, the 34-year-old was struggling financially and even faced eviction.
Santos was charged in 2023 withStealing from donors and his campaignHe collected unemployment benefits fraudulently and lied to Congress about his wealth.
Within months he wasExpelled from the US House of Representatives–OnlySixth memberIn the history of the chamber, she was ousted by her colleagues.
Santosplead guiltyThe following year just as his trial was scheduled.