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U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (left) and George Santos
President Donald Trump had said earlier that he had the right to do it, but hadn’t been asked.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday formally urged President Donald Trump to commute the prison sentence of former Republican congressman George Santos, calling his 87-month term a “grave injustice” and an example of unequal treatment under the law.
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In a letter to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, Greene wrote that Santos’s sentence for wire fraud and identity theft “extends far beyond what is warranted” and framed his conduct as campaign-related, despite extensive findings from federal prosecutors. “While his crimes warrant punishment,” Greene wrote, “many of my colleagues who I serve with have committed far worse offenses than Mr. Santos yet have faced zero criminal charges.” She provided no evidence for that claim.
Related: Trump says he could pardon George Santos, but no one’s asked
Santos, 37, reported to federal prison in New Jersey on July 25. He pleaded guilty in 2024 to 23 felony counts, including fraudulent Federal Elections Commission filings, identity theft, and unemployment insurance fraud. He admitted to stealing donor identities to charge their credit cards without authorization, falsifying campaign loans, lying in House financial disclosures, and using donor money for personal purchases such as designer clothing and Botox.
Following his April 2025 sentencing, Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham celebrated Santos’s conviction and sentence in a press release. “Today, George Santos was finally held accountable for the mountain of lies, theft, and fraud he perpetrated," he said. "For the defendant, it was judgment day, and for his many victims, including campaign donors, political parties, government agencies, elected bodies, his own family members, and his constituents, it is justice.”
Related: George Santos has to report to prison tomorrow — he’s not taking it well
FBI Assistant Director of the New York Field Office Christopher G. Raia said Santos “betrayed the public’s trust and violated our democratic systems,” and IRS criminal investigator Harry T. Chavis Jr. called him “a weaver of lies who believed he was above the law.”
Still, Greene claimed Santos had remorse and pointed to a lack of prior criminal history. “He is sincerely remorseful and has accepted full responsibility for his actions,” she wrote. “Commuting his sentence would acknowledge the severity of his actions and simultaneously provide a path forward in allowing him to make amends.”
In a tweet Monday evening, Greene wrote, “George Santos has taken responsibility. He’s shown remorse. It’s time to correct this injustice. We must demand equal justice under the law!”
Her appeal comes just days after Trump said that he had not been approached about pardoning Santos, but did not rule it out. “I have the right to do it,” Trump told Newsmax. “Nobody’s asked me, but it’s interesting.”
The Advocate has contacted White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to ask whether the president is now considering Greene’s request.
Santos, the first out gay Republican elected to Congress as a non-incumbent, was expelled from the House in December 2023 following a scathing report by the House Ethics Committee. After sentencing, he pleaded with Trump on social media for clemency and promoted his Cameo account to raise money for court-ordered restitution.
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