Trump Commutes Sentence of Former GOP Lawmaker George Santos (1)

President Donald Trump said he was commuting the sentence of former Republican lawmaker George Santos, who was convicted and sentenced to prison for stealing campaign funds.

“George 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 said in a social media post on Friday. “Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!”

Trump alleged, without providing any evidence, that Santos had been “horribly mistreated” while in prison.

George Santos, former Representative from New York, exits federal court in Central Islip, New York, US, on Friday, April 25, 2025.

Photographer: Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg

Santos, a former US Representative from New York, was sentenced to serve seven years and three months in prison earlier this year. Prosecutors initially charged Santos with 23 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds. He pleaded guilty in August 2024 to two counts of wire fraud and identity theft just weeks before his trial.

As part of the plea deal, Santos confessed to a wide range of conduct, including filing bogus reports with the Federal Election Commission, embezzling campaign funds, charging credit cards without authorization and fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits.

A spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in Brooklyn that prosecuted Santos declined to comment on Trump’s announcement.

The onetime rising Republican star, who gained notoriety for falsely claiming to have worked for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc., served in Congress for less than a year.

Santos’ political career began to unwind following revelations that he had lied about his resume and much of his life story during his campaign to represent a congressional district on Long Island. He was expelled after a US House ethics probe substantiated allegations of theft and deceit.

He was sentenced in April of this year and began serving his sentence in July.

Earlier: Trump Commutes Sentence of Former GOP Lawmaker George Santos

Trump in his second term has offered clemency to a number of people convicted of white-collar offenses, including some prominent business figures. The president has also notably used his clemency powers to come to the defense of allies, such as Santos — who was a staunch Trump loyalist, and moved to carry through on threats to punish those he sees as political opponents.

The announcement of Santos’ clemency came hours after former national security adviser John Bolton pleaded not guilty to charges that he allegedly mishandled classified materials.

Bolton, who served in Trump’s first term before becoming one of his fiercest critics, is the latest of the president’s perceived enemies to face charges. Former FBI director James Comey was indicted for allegedly lying to lawmakers, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, accused of violations tied to alleged mortgage fraud. Comey and James have denied wrongdoing.

(Updates with additional details, background throughout)

--With assistance from Patricia Hurtado.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Skylar Woodhouse in Washington at swoodhouse15@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Justin Sink at jsink1@bloomberg.net

Meghashyam Mali, Derek Wallbank

© 2025 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Used with permission.