President Trump orders immediate release of George Santos
President Trump announced on social media that former Congressman George Santos’ sentence would be commuted by seven years.
It was midsummer when former Congressman George Santos told his supporters, whom he doted on and called his beloved, that the spotlight had dimmed.
“From the Capitol to the chaos of cable news, it’s been really hard! Messy? All the time. Glamorous? Sometimes. Honestly? Hard work almost every day,” Santos wrote in a July 24 post on the X show. Mr. Santos reported to federal prison the next day to be sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
After President Donald Trump commuted Santos’ sentence on October 17, he congratulated him from the White House, saying, “Good luck George, have a great life!” On Oct. 18, Santos told a USA TODAY reporter by phone, “This is not a good time, I’m sorry,” and then hung up.
The reduction leaves Santos with an uncertain next step, as his biggest political ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, has sparred with Republicans in Congress and occasionally targeted Trump during his second term.
However, Mr. Santos was spared $370,000 in restitution he had to pay to victims of the fraud scheme. BFF Green, a former colleague and member of Congress, believes it was “the right thing to do”. And Meghan McCain exclaimed on X (formerly Twitter), “The diva is back!!”
George Santos lied about college, job, wealth, and being Jewish
Before Mr. Santos was sworn in to Congress to represent the swing seats of Queens and Long Island, a December 2022 report in the New York Times exposed Mr. Santos as a habitual liar. He lied about where he went to college and about his past of cushy finance jobs at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. He falsified records regarding his financial situation.
A CNN reporter learned that he had lied about being Jewish and the grandson of a Holocaust survivor. He claimed he looked “Jewish.” especially do not have Jewish. He lied about running an animal shelter, owning real estate he never owned, and having been married in the past. He lied that he had written a bad check in Brazil.
In any case, he took his seat in the US House of Representatives on January 3, 2023. A month later, a former aide accused Santos of sexual harassment.
For 11 months, Santos became the biggest star on the American political stage. He left Dunkin Donuts, coffee and Chick-fil-A for reporters sitting outside his Washington, D.C., office. He annoyed his colleagues. And Santos has found little interaction in Congress other than Greene and her frenemy, former Congressman Matt Gaetz.
Marjorie Taylor Greene advocated for George Santos’ release
In October 2023, prosecutors filed a new 23-count indictment replacing the previous charges brought against Santos. He was expelled from Congress in a bipartisan vote following the release of the House Ethics Report on December 1 of that year.
After leaving Congress, he appeared in a viral video interview with comedian Jiwe. He had a short-lived career in Cameos, where fans order videos from B-, C-, and D-list celebrities for birthdays and other celebrations. He took a plea deal last August and was ordered to pay restitution to his victims, but he will no longer have to do so under reduced terms posted on X by U.S. attorney Ed Martin.
As part of his argument, he admitted to filing false campaign finance reports, fraudulently charging donors’ credit cards and fraudulently receiving unemployment benefits, among other actions that began years before he ran for Congress in 2022.
Santos then gave Gates a makeup tutorial. Two years have passed since the two, both former members of the House of Representatives, became colleagues in the 118th Congress.
This summer, he reported to FCI Fairton in a sleepy New Jersey town about an hour from Philadelphia.
On the congressional side, Greene, an old friend, used her influence to persuade Martin and Trump to commute Santos’ sentence. On August 4, she sent a letter to the country’s pardon attorney Martin asking for Santos’ release.
“George Santos took responsibility,” Green wrote on social media. “He has shown remorse.” But Georgia lawmakers have been sparring with House leadership in recent months, making Santos’ release even more uncertain. Santos said prison is like hell. “There is no daylight, there is no silence, there is no escape,” Santos argued in X on October 7.
For Green, his wish came true. The light is back for Santos. Spotlight, that is. In a post on Truth Social, President Trump wrote, “George Santos was a ‘thug’ in some ways, but there are many thugs in this country who should not be sentenced to seven years in prison.”
“At least Santos always had the courage, the conviction, and the intelligence to vote Republican! George has been in solitary confinement for long periods of time and has been, by all accounts, horribly abused,” Trump continued. “Therefore, I have just signed a commutation of sentence that will immediately release George Santos from prison.”
George Santos described federal prison as “hell”
U.S. Attorney Martin said he was “honored” to have helped Santos. Local Republicans are outraged. “Honesty, integrity and accountability are non-negotiable standards for those seeking to serve the public,” Nassau County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph G. Cairo Jr. said in a statement shared with USA TODAY on Oct. 17.
New York State Representative Andrew Garbarino, a Republican, condemned Santos in a statement. “The victims of his crimes, including the people he stole from and the voters he defrauded, have yet to fully recover. He has shown no remorse whatsoever. The less than three months he spent in prison is not justice,” Garbarino said on Oct. 17.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, called Santos a “serial fraudster.” Ms. Green said she spoke with Mr. Santos. She believes that “we all deserve a second chance because we are all sinners and there are no exceptions.”
Midsummer is just a few months away. It’s already autumn in August. Santos will stay at his home outside the prison walls during the holidays and can take calls whenever he wants. He will be able to enjoy Christmas with his husband, Mateus “Matt” Gerard, and catch up with old friends like Green.
It was “not a good time” for him to speak on October 18th. So far he has not announced any public events. And at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., President Trump wants him to “live a great life.” For Santos, the show will continue under the returning spotlight.
Contributors: Eduardo Cuevas, Ben Adler, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Anthony Robredo
