Trump tells disgraced US politician George Santos to have a 'great life' after ordering his release from prison
Santos was jailed after deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people
President Donald Trump has wished the disgraced former US Representative George Santos a “great life” after commuting his seven-year jail sentence for fraud and identity theft.
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The New York Republican was sentenced in April after admitting last year to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people - including his own family members - to make donations to his campaign.
"I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY," Mr Trump wrote on TruthSocial.
"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."
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Santos will be released after spending less than 100 days behind bars.
The disgraced politician was indicted on felony charges that he stole from political donors, used campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses, lied to Congress about his wealth and collected unemployment benefits while working.
Santos was expelled from the US House after an ethics investigation found “overwhelming evidence” that he had broken the law and exploited his public position for his own profit.
The 36-year-old was once touted as a rising political star after he flipped the suburban district that covers the affluent North Shore of Long Island and a slice of the New York City borough of Queens in 2022.
But his life story began unravelling before he was even sworn into office.
At the time, reports emerged that he had lied about having a career at top Wall Street firms and a college degree along with other questions of his biography.
New questions then emerged about his campaign funds.
He was first indicted on federal charges in May 2023, but refused to resign from office.
Santos was expelled from Congress after an ethics investigation found “overwhelming evidence” that he had broken the law and exploited his public position for his own profit.
Santos has previously maintained his innocence, though he said in an interview in December that a plea deal with prosecutors was “not off the table”.
Asked if he was afraid of going to prison, he told CBS 2 at the time: “I think everybody should be afraid of going to jail, it’s not a pretty place and uh, I definitely want to work very hard to avoid that as best as possible.”