US President Donald Trump has announced that he commuted the prison sentence of former New York congressman George Santos, according to media reports.
Santos was convicted last year after pleading guilty to charges of committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors said his actions were part of a years-long scheme, which Santos used to prey upon the campaign finance system and his own Republican party, donors and family members to enrich himself.
Santos was sentenced in April to more than seven years in prison.
Trump said he signed commutation papers on Friday that would immediately release Santos from prison.
"George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!"
A senior White House official told news outlets that the president decided to commute Santos' sentence after "many people wrote to him about it."
"The reach-outs on this that President Trump got were overwhelming," another White House official told reporters. "He heard from so many people, and in recent days he decided it was the right decision. It's his call, and he made it."
Wire fraud, identity theft
Santos began his sentence in July at a federal facility in the state of New Jersey, where reports indicated that he had been locked up in solitary confinement.
Santos unexpectedly rose to prominence after winning a congressional seat in 2022. But his term in Congress was the subject of scandals and scrutiny, including reports that he made up parts of his resume and the subsequent wire fraud and identity theft charges.
Santos's bizarre biographical fabrications included claiming to have worked for Goldman Sachs, being Jewish and having been a college volleyball star.
 
He was expelled from the House in 2023, one year after he was elected to office, becoming only the third person to be ejected as a US lawmaker since the Civil War, a rebuke previously reserved for traitors and convicted criminals.
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Source: TRT