Donald Trump commutes fraudster George Santos's prison sentence

President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the more-than-seven-year federal prison sentence of former U.S. Rep. George Santos, the disgraced gay New York Republican who became a national symbol of political deceit before his expulsion from Congress.

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Trump announced the decision on Truth Social, calling Santos “somewhat of a rogue” and claiming his punishment was excessive. He compared Santos’s conduct to Democratic Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s past misstatements about military service, calling Blumenthal a “complete and total fraud.” Trump said Santos had been “horribly mistreated” and held in solitary confinement for long stretches, adding, “I just signed a commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, immediately. Good luck George, have a great life.”

Related: George Santos bids farewell as he begins prison sentence

Santos, 37, pleaded guilty to 23 felony counts, including wire fraud, identity theft, and falsifying records. Prosecutors said he fabricated campaign loans, stole donor identities, and spent political contributions on luxury goods, Botox, and online subscriptions. In April, a federal judge sentenced him to 87 months in prison and ordered him to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars. He began serving his sentence in July at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey.

Ed Martin, the Trump-aligned pardon attorney who was appointed to the position after he couldn't be confirmed by the Senate for a U.S. attorney post, wrote on X, “I was honored as U.S. Pardon Attorney to have played a small role in @POTUS granting @MrSantosNY clemency. Thank you, Mr. President, for making clemency great again.

In justifying his clemency, Trump, who was also convicted on 34 felony counts of fraud in New York state court, wrote, "At least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!"

The commutation spares Santos from the remainder of his sentence but leaves his conviction intact. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not expunge a criminal record; it simply ends the prison term.

Martin later added, "George had no greater friend than @RepMTG."

Related: BREAKING: Marjorie Taylor Greene officially urges Trump to commute George Santos’s prison sentence

Before Trump’s intervention, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia had urged him to grant clemency, calling Santos’s punishment a “grave injustice.” In a letter to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, Greene said his sentence “extends far beyond what is warranted,” asserting that Santos had accepted responsibility and shown remorse.

After news of Santos's commutation broke, Greene wrote, "THANK YOU President Trump for releasing George Santos!! He was unfairly treated and put in solitary confinement, which is torture.

Santos reportedly asked to be held in solitary confinement.

Santos, who was the first out gay Republican elected to Congress as a non-incumbent, entered prison amid spectacle and defiance. Days before reporting, he posted online that he would “surrender in Ferragamo so I can walk out in Ferragamo.”

This story is developing.