U.S. President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of former Republican Congressman George Santos, 37 years old, who was expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives for the sixth time in its history due to allegations of widespread fabrication of his background, education, and career, as well as fraud charges, on the 17th.

Trump claimed on that day, "George was held in solitary confinement for a long period and was clearly subjected to horrifying abuse," and announced, "That is why I just signed a commutation order to immediately release Santos."

Santos, the son of Brazilian immigrants, was elected as a U.S. Representative for the northern Long Island and northeastern Queens district of New York State in the 2022 U.S. midterm elections. As a Republican, he overturned the Democratic Party's favorable odds and won the election, once being regarded as the 'embodiment of the American Dream.' However, immediately after his election, it was revealed that most of the credentials he had touted were fabricated.

Santos claimed credentials such as 'graduating from prestigious Baruch College in New York' and 'working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup on Wall Street,' but all were fraudulent. His background, including being a 'Jewish immigrant who fled to Brazil to escape Nazi persecution' and having a 'mother who worked at the World Trade Center and was a victim of the 9/11 terrorist attacks,' were also entirely false. Although he claimed to have operated an animal rescue organization, it was revealed that he misappropriated online donations by exploiting another person's sick pet dog.

Santos faced various corruption allegations, including misusing election funds to purchase luxury clothing, and was eventually expelled from the House in December 2023. He was indicted on a total of 23 charges, including fraud, money laundering, and embezzlement of public funds, and was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in prison by the court in April of this year.

He was imprisoned in a New Jersey prison on July 25 of last year and was originally scheduled to be released in September 2031, according to The New York Times (NYT). According to the NYT, Santos sought help from Republican figures he was close to, including Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch supporter of President Trump. Greene sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice in August of last year requesting a commutation.

Santos was a supporter of President Trump, and Trump had previously hinted at the possibility of pardoning him in past interviews. In an interview with Newsmax, Trump said, "He lied relentlessly," but added, "I don't know him, but he was a 100% Trump supporter."

Trump claimed there are many more fraudsters who are not imprisoned despite being worse than Santos and stated, "At the very least, Santos had the courage, conviction, and intelligence to always vote for the Republican Party."

Trump Commutes Sentence of Ex-Republican Congressman George Santos