Ex-congressman released from jail after Trump commutes his sentence

Former representative George Santos of New York, the disgraced Republican fabulist whose lies made him an object of national scorn, was released from a federal prison on the night of Oct 17 after US President Donald Trump commuted his seven-year sentence for fraud.

- Michael Gold and Grace Ashford

Former representative George Santos leaving the US Capitol in Washington after his expulsion from office on Dec 1, 2023.

(PHOTO: KENNY HOLSTON/NYTIMES)

His lawyer Joseph Murray said that Santos was released from the Federal Correctional Institution Fairton in New Jersey after 10pm on Oct 17. “A great injustice has been corrected,” Mr Murray said.

In a social media post, Mr Trump suggested that politics had been a major factor in his decision, commending Santos for sharing his views and contrasting him with Democrats.

Calling the former member of Congress “somewhat of a rogue”, Mr Trump said he believed Santos’ sentence was excessive given the nature of his financial crimes.

The President also suggested he had been moved by Santos’ accounts of being in prison, which he published in a regular column in a local Long Island newspaper.