Trump says he has commuted sentence of former US Rep. George Santos in federal fraud case

NEW YORK AP President Donald Trump commented Friday he had commuted the sentence of former U S Rep George Santos who is serving more than seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud and identity theft charges The New York Republican was sentenced in April after admitting last year to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of people including his own family members to make donations to his campaign He communicated to Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton in southern New Jersey on July and is being housed in a minimum safety prison camp with fewer than other inmates I just signed a Commutation releasing George Santos from prison RIGHT NOW Trump posted on his social media platform George Santos was somewhat of a rogue but there are numerous rogues throughout our Country that aren t forced to serve seven years in prison he wrote Andrew Mancilla one of Santos lawyers announced Friday he was very very happy with the decision though he announced it s unclear at this point when Santos will be published The defense crew applauds President Trump for doing the right thing Mancilla mentioned by phone The sentence was far too long Santos has been in prison for days During his time behind bars he has been writing regular dispatches in a local Long Island newspaper The South Shore Press In his latest letter published Oct Santos pleaded to Trump directly citing his fealty to the president s agenda and to the Republican Party Sir I appeal to your sense of justice and humanity the same qualities that have inspired millions of Americans to believe in you he wrote I humbly ask that you consider the rare pain and hardship of this conditions and allow me the opportunity to return to my family my friends and my area A prominent former House colleague U S Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene also urged the White House to commute his sentence saying in a letter sent just days into his prison bid that the punishment was a grave injustice and a product of judicial overreach The judge in Santos circumstance had agreed with federal prosecutors that a stiffer sentence was warranted because Santos didn t seem remorseful despite what he and his lawyers claimed Santos commutation is Trump s latest high-profile act of clemency for former Republican politicians since retaking the White House in January In late May he pardoned former U S Rep Michael Grimm a New York Republican who in pleaded guilty to underreporting wages and revenue at a restaurant he ran in Manhattan He also pardoned former Connecticut Gov John Rowland whose promising political career was upended by a corruption outrage and two federal prison stints Trump himself was convicted in a New York court last year in a incident involving hush money payments He derided the affair as part of a politically motivated witch hunt Santos was once an up-and-coming star for the GOP He became the first openly gay Republican elected to Congress in flipping a House seat representing parts of Queens and Long Island But Santos served less than a year in office after it was revealed that he had fabricated much of his life story which in turn led to investigations into how the then-unknown politician had funded his winning campaign A son of Brazilian immigrants Santos had claimed he was a productive business consultant with Wall Street cred and a sizable real estate portfolio He eventually admitted he had never graduated from Baruch College or been a standout contestant on the Manhattan college s volleyball gang as he had claimed He had never worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs He wasn t even Jewish Santos insisted he meant he was Jew-ish because his mother s family had a Jewish background even though he was raised Catholic In truth the then- -year-old was struggling financially and even faced eviction Santos was charged in with stealing from donors and his campaign fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits and lying to Congress about his wealth Within months he was expelled from the U S House of Representatives just the sixth member in the chamber s history to be ousted by colleagues Santos pleaded guilty the following year just as he was set to stand trial