President Trump announced on social media that he has commuted the seven-year prison sentence for former Representative George Santos.
It was midsummer when former Rep. George Santos told his followers, which he dotingly referred to as darlings, that the spotlight had dimmed.
"From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it's been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried...most days," Santos wrote in a July 24 post on X. He was reporting to federal prison the next day to begin a seven-year prison sentence for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
After President Donald Trump commuted Santos' sentence Oct. 17, he offered well wishes from The White House: "Good luck George, have a great life!" When reached by phone Oct. 18, Santos told a USA TODAY reporter that "this is not a good time, sorry" and hung up.
The commutation has thrown Santos - whose next steps remain unclear - into an uncertain future as his biggest political ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, spars with fellow Republicans in Congress and takes occasional aim at Trump during his second term.
Santos, though, is off the hook for the $370,000 in restitution he owes to victims from his fraud schemes. Former colleague and congressional BFF Greene believes it was "the right thing to do." And Meghan McCain exclaimed on X, formerly Twitter, that "the diva is back!!"
Before Santos was sworn into Congress, representing a Queens and Long Island swing seat, a December 2022 report from The New York Times uncovered that he was a habitual liar. He lied about where he attended college and past cushy finance jobs at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. He falsified records relating to his financial status.
CNN reporters found out that he lied about being the grandson of Holocaust survivors and being Jewish. He was "Jew-ish," he claimed. Notably not Jewish. He lied about running an animal rescue group and owning properties he never owned and a past marriage. He lied about writing bad checks in Brazil.
He was seated in the U.S. House anyways Jan. 3, 2023. A month later, a former aide accused Santos of sexual harassment.
For 11 months, Santos became the biggest star in American political theater. He left Dunkin' donuts and coffee and Chick-fil-A for reporters that sat outside of his Washington, D.C. office. He frustrated colleagues. And Santos found little fellowship in Congress outside of Rep. Greene and a frenemy, embattled former Rep. Matt Gaetz.
In October 2023, prosecutors filed a new 23-count indictment, replacing the previous charges levied at Santos. He was expelled from Congress by a bipartisan vote following the release of a House Ethics report Dec. 1 of that year.
After leaving Congress, he starred in a viral video interview with comedian Ziwe. He made a short-lived career on Cameo, where fans order videos for birthdays and other celebrations from B-and-C-and-D-list celebrities. He took a plea deal in August of last year and was ordered to pay restitution to his victims, but he will no longer have to do so under the terms of the commutation posted on X by U.S. attorney Ed Martin.
As part of the plea, he admitted to filing false campaign finance reports, charging donors' credit cards without authorization and fraudulently receiving unemployment benefits, among other acts that began years before he ran for Congress in 2022.
And Santos gave Gaetz a makeup tutorial Jan. 3, two years to the day after the duo - both now-former members of the House - became coworkers during the 118th Congress.
This summer, he reported to FCI Fairton in a sleepy New Jersey town an hour outside of Philadelphia.
From Congress, his old friend Greene used her influence to sway Martin to convince Trump to commute Santos' sentence. She sent a letter addressed to Martin - the country's pardon attorney - Aug. 4 to request Santos' release.
"George Santos has taken responsibility," Greene wrote on social media. "He's shown remorse."
But the Georgia congresswoman has sparred with House leadership in recent months, making Santos’ release even more uncertain. Santos said prison was like hell. “No sunlight. No silence. No escape,” Santos claimed Oct. 7 on X.
For Greene, a wish came true. For Santos, the light came back. The spotlight, that is. “George Santos was somewhat of a ‘rogue,’ but there are many rogues throughout our Country that aren’t forced to serve seven years in prison,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“At least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN! George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated,” Trump continued. “Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY.”
The U.S. Attorney Martin said he was “honored” to help Santos. The local Republicans are peeved. “Integrity, honesty, and accountability are non-negotiable standards for anyone seeking to serve the public,” the Nassau County Republican committee chairman Joseph G. Cairo Jr. said in a statement shared Oct. 17 with USA TODAY.
New York Rep. Andrew Garbarino, a Republican, slammed Santos in a statement. “The victims of his crimes still have not been made whole, including the people he stole from and the voters he defrauded,” Garbarino said Oct. 17. “He has shown no remorse. The less than three months that he spent in prison is not justice.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, called Santos a “serial fraudster.” Greene said she spoke with Santos. She believes in “second chances because we are all sinners; there are no exceptions.”
The months after midsummer are gone. August has faded to autumn now. Santos will be home for the holidays outside of prison walls and can take phone calls whenever he would like. He can enjoy Christmas with his husband Matheus “Matt” Gerard and catch up with old friends like Greene.
It was “not a good time” for him to talk on Oct. 18. He hasn’t announced any public events, for now. And at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., Trump wants him to “have a great life.” For Santos, under a returned spotlight, the show will go on.