SM. Trump commutes the sentence of former Congressman George Santos, sparking both praise and outrage as he sends the controversial figure off with a ‘good luck’ message.

NEED TO KNOW

• President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence of former New York Rep. George Santos
• Santos was convicted in 2024 on nearly two dozen charges of fraud and aggravated identity theft
• Trump announced the pardon in a post to Truth Social, offering a single line of well-wishes for Santos: “Good luck George, have a great life!”

President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence of George Santos, the former New York congressman convicted of multiple fraud charges.

Trump announced that he “just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY,” in a post to his account on Truth Social on Oct. 17. The post also included a lengthy missive in which Trump compares Santos to Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

“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 began the post. “I started to think about George when the subject of Democrat Senator Richard ‘Da Nang Dick’ Blumenthal came up again.”

According to CNN, Trump called for a federal investigation into Blumenthal in July, alleging that the Connecticut senator lied about his service in the Vietnam War. Blumenthal denied Trump’s claims, telling the outlet that Trump’s allegations were “completely deceptive and distorted.”

“His War Hero status, and even minimal service in our Military, was totally and completely MADE UP,” Trump continued. “This is far worse than what George Santos did, and at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!”

Also in his post, Trump alleged that Santos has been in “solitary confinement for long stretches of time, and by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated.”

Trump ended the post with a single line of well wishes for Santos: “Good luck George, have a great life!”

“We never gave up on him,” Santos’ attorney Robert Fantone said in a statement to PEOPLE. “And now it looks like George’s sentence is fair and commensurate with the nature and severity of conduct.”

Santos was convicted in August 2024 on 23 counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was later sentenced to seven years in prison, with federal prosecutors seeking a longer prison sentence due to his “belligerent,” “attention-seeking” behavior. He was indicted on the charges in 2023, and shortly thereafter, expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives in response to the indictment.

He was later sentenced to seven years in prison.

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Santos has also been accused of lying about his past, and making unwanted sexual advances toward a prospective staffer.

The disgraced congressman reported to a New Jersey federal prison on July 25, sharing a dramatic farewell message for his supporters on X the night before beginning his sentence.

“Well, darlings… The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,” Santos wrote. “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.”

Because Santos’ sentence was commuted, he will be released from prison but his convictions will remain on his record. According to the United States Department of Justice, “a commutation of sentence does not change the fact of conviction, imply innocence, or remove civil disabilities that apply to the convicted person as a result of the criminal conviction.”