Disgraced former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) walked out of prison a free man Friday hours after President Trump commuted his 87-month prison sentence for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Santos, 37, had served less than three months – a grand total of 84 days – of the sentence handed down by a federal judge in April when he was released from FCI Fairton, a medium security prison in Fairfield Township, NJ, at around 11 p.m., his lawyer Joseph Murray told The Post.
The serial liar had initially faced 20 years behind bars, but he copped a plea deal just weeks before he was set to go on trial on nearly two dozen charges related to an alleged scheme to inflate his campaign contributions.
Santos had begged Trump to get him out of prison in an open letter, published Monday in the South Shore Press.
The ex-lawmaker described the conditions inside the penitentiary as “unlike anything most Americans could ever comprehend,” in his missive to Trump.
“Today, I am asking you respectfully, earnestly, and directly for your understanding and compassion,” Santos wrote, describing himself as a “lifelong Republican and a proud believer in your America First vision” who “never wavered” when it came to supporting the president.
Santos went on to explain that since Aug. 28 he’s been living in “complete isolation inside the Special Housing Unit” of the prison, because of a death threat being investigated by the FBI.
“Life in SHU is unlike anything most Americans could ever comprehend,” he 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.”
“The facility has informed me that I will remain in this state of solitary confinement until the FBI’s investigation concludes — whenever that may be.”
Santos told Trump he was “not asking for sympathy” but “asking for fairness” and the chance to “rebuild.”
“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,” he wrote.
“Mr. President, I have nowhere else to turn,” the ex-congressman continued.
“With the deepest respect and gratitude, I thank you for taking the time to hear my plea.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) pushed for Santos’ release in August, calling his sentencing “abusive overreach by the judicial system,” in a letter to the Justice Department.
“THANK YOU President Trump for releasing George Santos!!” Greene wrote on X after Trump announced the commutation.
“He was unfairly treated and put in solitary confinement, which is torture!!” she added.
Ed Martin, the DOJ’s pardon attorney, noted on X that “George had not greater friend than [Greene].”
Martin said he was “honored” to have “played a small role in [Trump] granting [Santos] clemency.”
“Thank you, Mr. President for making clemency great again,” the pardon attorney added.
Meanwhile, the Democrat Santos beat in the 2022 race for New York’s 3rd District congressional seat fumed that 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.”
“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,” Robert Zimmerman said in a statement.
“While I have no doubt that Santos will ultimately end up in Trump’s Cabinet, this decision demonstrates the lawlessness of the Trump Administration,” he added. “We are all waiting to see if every Republican in Congress who condemned Santos will have the courage to stand up to Donald Trump and condemn him for this shameful action.”
Santos was booted out of Congress in December 2023, a little more than year after he defeated Zimmerman, following the release of a scathing report from the House Ethics Committee about his use of campaign funds for personal splurges, including X-rated OnlyFans subscriptions, Botox and lavish trips.
The former congressman had also infamously fabricated much of his personal and professional history before entering the House of Representatives.
Among the lies: Santos claimed to have graduated from New York University and Baruch College — the latter on a volleyball scholarship — worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, and been descended from a Jewish family.
“I never claimed to be Jewish,” Santos told The Post in December 2022. “I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’”
Trump indicated that he decided to commute Santos’ sentence because of the “horrible” treatment he had endured in prison and because other lawmakers have done “far worse than what George Santos did.”
“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,” Trump argued in a Truth Social post, citing Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s (D-Conn.) fibs about serving in the Vietnam War.
“[A]t least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!” the president wrote. “George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated.”
“Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!”
