Disgraced former congressman George Santos was released from federal custody late Friday after President Donald Trump commuted his 87-month sentence for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Santos had served just under three months of his prison term before his release.

Santos, 37, was freed from the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey, around 11 p.m., according to his attorney Joseph Murray.

“God bless President Donald J Trump the greatest President in U.S. history!” Murray wrote in a post on Santos’ X account shortly after the commutation was announced.

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The former New York lawmaker, known for fabricating parts of his personal history, left the prison without media present.

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A vehicle with New York license plates was observed entering the facility shortly before 10:30 p.m. and departing soon afterward, though it has not been confirmed whether Santos was inside.

Santos had faced up to 20 years in prison before accepting a plea deal on nearly two dozen charges related to campaign finance violations.

He pleaded guilty in April and began serving his sentence earlier this summer.

The former congressman had written an open letter to President Trump published Monday in the South Shore Press, pleading for clemency.

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In the letter, Santos described his confinement in the Special Housing Unit at Fairton as “unlike anything most Americans could ever comprehend.” He said the isolation followed a death threat against him that was under FBI investigation.

“Life in SHU is unlike anything most Americans could ever comprehend,” Santos wrote.

“I am locked inside a small steel cage twenty-four hours a day. My only contact with the outside world is a brief phone call to my family — once every thirty days.”

Santos told Trump he was not seeking sympathy but fairness, writing, “I know I have made mistakes in my past. I have faced my share of consequences, and I take full responsibility for my actions. But no man, no matter his flaws, deserves to be lost in the system, forgotten and unseen, enduring punishment far beyond what justice requires.”

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In August, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia urged the Justice Department to review Santos’ case, calling his sentence “abusive overreach by the judicial system.”

Following the announcement of the commutation, Greene posted on X: “THANK YOU President Trump for releasing George Santos!! He was unfairly treated and put in solitary confinement, which is torture!!”

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Ed Martin, who serves as the Department of Justice’s pardon attorney, acknowledged Greene’s role, writing that “George had no greater friend than [Greene].”

Martin said he was “honored” to have “played a small role in [Trump] granting [Santos] clemency.”


Santos’ attorney also thanked Greene, along with Representatives Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, and former Representative Matt Gaetz, noting that “President Trump is absolutely right when he says that the U.S. is back!”

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Robert Zimmerman, the Democrat Santos defeated in the 2022 race for New York’s 3rd District, sharply criticized the commutation.

“Trump is trying to put his political enemies in jail while he frees George Santos for the unconscionable crimes that he committed and the fraud he concealed,” Zimmerman said.

“For Donald Trump to erase the consequence of those crimes — simply because Santos votes Republican — should outrage each and every American who says they are for law and order.”

Santos was expelled from Congress in December 2023 after a House Ethics Committee report accused him of using campaign funds for personal expenses, including luxury travel and adult content subscriptions.

He had also fabricated details of his education, employment, and background before his 2022 election.

President Trump defended the commutation in a post on Truth Social, citing the “horrible” treatment Santos endured while incarcerated.

“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,” the president wrote.

“At least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN! George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated.”

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“Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!” the post concluded.