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Disgraced former Republican lawmaker George Santos, who was found guilty of wire fraud and identity theft, was released from prison on Friday shortly after US President Donald Trump commuted his sentence, according to his attorney.
In a detailed post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, Trump stated, “George has endured long periods of solitary confinement and, by all accounts, has faced terrible mistreatment.”
“And at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN,” he added.
“Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY.”
“God bless President Donald J Trump the greatest President in U.S. history!” Murray wrote in a statement that was posted on Santos’s X account.
A presidential commutation differs from a pardon in that the original conviction remains intact, but the imposed sentence is lessened.
The 37-year-old former representative from New York began his prison term in July, having been sentenced to seven years and three months in April for stealing the identities of campaign donors and misusing their credit cards, along with other offences.
An investigation by a congressional ethics committee uncovered that he had allegedly spent stolen money on Botox treatments, the OnlyFans adult website, and luxury items from Italy, as well as vacations to the Hamptons and Las Vegas.
Santos’s eccentric claims about his background included that he had worked for Goldman Sachs, identified as Jewish, and claimed to have been a college volleyball star.
In 2023, he was expelled from the House of Representatives, just one year after taking office, making him only the third individual to be ousted as a US lawmaker since the Civil War, a severe sanction historically reserved for traitors and convicted criminals.
