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President Donald Trump’s recent decision to commute the sentence of former Republican congressman George Santos sparked outrage among critics of the administration. Santos, the winner of New York’s 3rd congressional district election in 2022, was slated to serve more than seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in August 2024. Trump last Friday announced he had commuted the ex-congressman’s sentence, and Santos was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton later that day. Santos, who was expelled from the House in December 2023, served less than three months of his 87-month sentence. George Conway, the ex-husband of former Trump aide Kellyanne Conway, criticized Trump’s decision during a roundtable on MSNBC. “It’s completely nuts, but he’s completely nuts – and so is Santos," said Conway, a lawyer and anti-Trump activist. “And look, maybe that’s the thing that joins them all together. Under any normal pardon or commutation system, this guy is not eligible. He committed flat-out fraud; there was no question about his guilt. “At the end of the day, he shows no remorse, no acceptance of responsibility. There is no reason to give him a break on his sentence. But there is something about, I guess, Trump finds appealing (in) a fraudster.” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) denounced Trump’s decision to grant Santos clemency, saying “we cannot accept this” in a post on X. “An essential feature of authoritarianism is that the leader - not courts - decides who is guilty and who is not,” Murphy said. “Santos - who Trump said is getting a commutation bc he ‘votes Republican’ - is the 10th high profile loyalist to get a pardon or clemency. We cannot accept this.” Damin Toell, a lawyer based in Brooklyn, New York, detailed some of the allegations against Santos, which included deceiving and defrauding donors to funnel money into his 2022 congressional campaign. During his trial, Santos admitted to misleading voters, swindling donors and stealing the identities of 11 people to make donations to his campaign. Prosecutor Ryan Harris said some of the ex-congressman’s victims were “extremely vulnerable,“ including elderly people with cognitive impairments. Santos had agreed to pay restitution of $373,750 to the victims as part of his plea deal, but said he would only do so if it is “required of me by the law.” Trump, in explaining why he granted Santos clemency, said the lies Santos told about himself were no worse than misleading statements U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) had made about his military record. “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 posted last Friday on his social media platform. “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!” Santos thanked Trump for granting him a “second chance” in a post on X. “First and foremost, I want to thank our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for never abandoning me,” Santos said. “ ... I also want to express my deepest gratitude to President Donald J. Trump. Earlier today, I had the honor of speaking with him personally, a conversation I will never forget. In that moment, I saw not only the strength of a great leader, but the heart of a man who believes in mercy, in redemption, and in the promise that America gives everyone, the promise of a second chance.” Santos, 37, said he is weighing a future return to politics, but not within the “next decade.”
