USA Trump mitigates Santos' sentence - ex-congressman goes free
US President Donald Trump grants former Republican congressman George Santos, who was convicted of fraud, a reduced sentence. He has just signed this, Trump explained on Truth Social. The Republican is thus immediately released from prison. Trump did not elaborate on what exactly the measure entails.
18.10.2025, 08:33
SDA
"George Santos was something of a "scoundrel", but there are many scoundrels in our country who are not forced to spend seven years in prison," Trump previously stated. He also wrote: Santos had been in solitary confinement for long periods of time and - by all accounts - had been terribly mistreated. At the end, Trump added: "Good luck, George - I wish you a great life!"
Santos was sentenced to more than seven years in prison in April for fraud and identity theft, among other things. He had pleaded guilty. Santos began serving his sentence in July. In an open letter shared on his X account a few days ago, Santos asked Trump to be allowed to return home.
Fraud, deception, lies and bizarre appearances
Santos' rise to the federal political stage was overshadowed from the start by allegations of fraud and deception. Among other things, he falsified a large part of the CV with which he presented himself to voters in 2022. In the course of the public furor surrounding him, more and more lies and outlandish episodes about Santos came to light.
Due to his lies and bizarre appearances, Santos was kicked out of the US House of Representatives at the beginning of December 2023, where he had sat for around a year as a member of parliament for a New York district and presented himself as a supporter of Donald Trump.
