President Trump said Friday he granted former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) a sentence commutation months after the ex-lawmaker reported to prison.
“George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated,” the president wrote in a statement on Truth Social.
“Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!” he added.
Joe Murray, Santos's attorney, said he will be released on Friday night.
“He will be released tonight due to the greatest President in U. S. History!" Murray said in a statement sent to The Hill. "God has answered our prayers."
Santos was originally sentenced to a seven-year prison term after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was expelled from Congress once it was revealed that he fabricated a majority of his resume in addition to campaign finance reports. Santos reported to prison in June.
On Friday, Trump said Democratic lawmakers have done much worse.
“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 Friday, accusing Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) of lying about his military record.
Trump credited Santos, the first openly gay House Republican, for having “the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!”
Santos frequently joked about the sequence of events in social media posts prior to reporting to prison.
“Well, darlings … The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed. From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it’s been!” Santos wrote in a June social media post before reporting to prison. “Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried … most days.”
Updated at 7:29 p.m. EDT
Zach Schonfeld contributed.
Source: The Hill - News
