'ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN': Trump commutes George Santos sentence
President Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence of former U.S. Representative George Santos on Friday evening, ordering his immediate release from federal custody after serving less than three months of a seven-year sentence for fraud and identity theft. In his announcement, Trump praised Santos for his Republican voting record and claimed the disgraced former congressman had been “horribly mistreated” in prison.
Republican Loyalty as Justification
In his Truth Social post, Trump explicitly cited Santos’s loyalty to the Republican party as a factor in his clemency decision, stating that “at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!” This marks a departure from traditional clemency considerations, which typically focus on the nature of the crime, remorse, rehabilitation, or disproportionate sentencing rather than political affiliation.
Santos served barely a year in Congress before becoming only the sixth member in House history to be expelled by his colleagues in December 2023. The House voted 311-114 to remove him, with 105 Republicans joining nearly all Democrats in support of expulsion. During his brief tenure, Santos introduced 40 bills that received no votes from colleagues, and his legislative record showed minimal accomplishments.
Solitary Confinement Claims
Trump’s commutation statement highlighted Santos’s time in solitary confinement as a key factor in the decision. “George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated,” Trump wrote.
Santos was placed in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) at Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey, in late August 2025 after receiving death threats. In a letter to Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Santos described being isolated 24 hours a day in a cell with no windows, receiving showers only three times per week. He characterized the conditions as “slow-motion torture” in writings shared publicly.
“For the past twelve days, I have been subjected to what can only be described as a slow-motion form of torture inside the so-called ‘Special Housing Unit’ at FCI Fairton,” Santos wrote in one account.
Santos described being moved from a 17-by-15-foot cell to an even smaller 7-by-9-foot cell that he called “coated in filth, reeking of neglect, and utterly devoid of natural light or ventilation”. Prison officials stated they placed Santos in protective custody “for his safety” after the alleged threats, and that the FBI was investigating the matter.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on specific conditions for individual inmates, citing privacy and security concerns, but stated that FCI Fairton “provides nutritionally adequate meals” and maintains “appropriate temperatures”.
Criminal Conviction and Sentencing
Santos pleaded guilty in August 2024 to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges. Prosecutors said he deceived donors, stole the identities of 11 people—including family members—to make fraudulent campaign contributions, and fabricated fundraising figures during his 2022 congressional campaign.
U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert sentenced Santos to 87 months in federal prison in April 2025, rejecting his request for a lighter two-year sentence. The judge questioned his remorse, asking, “Where is your remorse? Where do I see it?” She stated Santos appeared to feel “it’s always someone else’s fault”.
Santos reported to FCI Fairton on July 25, 2025, and was initially housed in a minimum-security prison camp with fewer than 50 inmates before being moved to solitary confinement.
Immediate Release Order
Trump concluded his statement with a directive for Santos’s immediate freedom: “Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!”
A commutation reduces or eliminates a sentence but does not erase the conviction, unlike a pardon. Santos’s commutation represents Trump’s latest high-profile act of clemency for Republican politicians since returning to the White House in January 2025.
Andrew Mancilla, one of Santos’s attorneys, told reporters Friday he was “very, very happy with the decision,” though it remained unclear exactly when Santos would be physically released from the facility.
The decision drew immediate criticism from some quarters, with questions raised about using political loyalty as a criterion for clemency and whether the move undermines accountability for federal crimes.
ABC News. 2025. “George Santos’ Prison Sentence Commuted, Ex-GOP Congressman to Be Released ‘Immediately’: Trump.” October 17, 2025. https://abcnews.go.com/US/george-santos-prison-sentence-commuted-released-immediately-trump/story?id=126633000.
Al Jazeera. 2025. “Trump Commutes Sentence of Former Republican Lawmaker George Santos.” October 17, 2025. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/17/trump-commutes-sentence-of-former-republican-lawmaker-george-santos.
Associated Press. 2025. “Trump Commutes Sentence of Former US Rep. George Santos.” October 17, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/trump-george-santos-commutation-pardon-8ae46d6351cefe01d79f74920521b7a2.
CNN. 2023. “GOP Rep. George Santos Expelled from House.” December 1, 2023. https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/george-santos-expulsion-vote-12-1-23.
CNN. 2025. “Trump Says He Has Commuted Sentence of Former Rep. George Santos.” October 17, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/17/politics/george-santos-sentence-commuted.
Corrections1. 2025. “Ex-Rep. George Santos Says Death Threat Has Left Him in Solitary Confinement at N.J. Prison.” September 16, 2025. https://www.corrections1.com/solitary-confinement/ex-rep-george-santos-says-death-threat-has-left-him-in-solitary-confinement-at-n-j-prison.
NBC News. 2025. “Trump Commutes Former Rep. George Santos’ Prison Sentence.” October 17, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-commutes-sentence-george-santos-rcna238293.
Newsweek. 2025. “George Santos Complains Prison Conditions Are ‘Neglect of Human Rights.’” August 28, 2025. https://www.newsweek.com/george-santos-prison-criminal-pardon-mtg-2121135.
NPR. 2025. “President Trump Commutes the Prison Sentence of George Santos.” October 17, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/10/17/nx-s1-5578304/trump-george-santos-prison-sentence-commuted.
PBS NewsHour. 2025. “Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sobbed as Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft.” April 25, 2025. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/ex-us-rep-george-santos-sobbed-as-he-is-sentenced-to-over-7-years-in-prison-for-fraud-and-identity-theft.
PBS NewsHour. 2025. “Trump Commutes 7-Year Prison Sentence of Former Rep. George Santos in Federal Fraud Case.” October 17, 2025. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-commutes-7-year-prison-sentence-of-former-rep-george-santos-in-federal-fraud-case.
Reuters. 2025. “Trump Commutes Prison Sentence of Former Lawmaker George Santos, Orders Him Released.” October 17, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-commutes-former-congressman-george-santos-prison-sentence-2025-10-17/.
Santos, George. 2025. “Santos in Solitary: Slow Motion Torture.” South Shore Press, September 28, 2025. https://southshorepress.com/stories/675568842-santos-in-solitary-slow-motion-torture.
Solitary Watch. 2025. “Former U.S. Representative George Santos Held in Solitary…and Other News on Solitary Confinement This Week.” September 30, 2025. https://solitarywatch.org/2025/10/01/former-u-s-representative-george-santos-held-in-solitaryand-other-news-on-solitary-confinement-this-week/.
Trump, Donald J. 2025. Truth Social post. October 17, 2025. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115391767709119144.
Washington Post. 2025. “Trump Orders Disgraced Former Congressman George Santos Released from Prison.” October 17, 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/17/trump-clemency-george-santos/.