Khaberni - On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an order for the immediate release of former U.S. Representative George Santos, who had been sentenced to more than seven years in prison on charges of fraud and identity theft.
Santos, who was expelled from Congress shortly after a scandal-ridden term, had pleaded guilty to inflating fundraising figures and falsifying donor names to secure financial support for the Republican Party during the 2022 election cycle.
He was elected that year to represent a part of New York City and its eastern suburbs.
During his campaign, Santos falsely claimed to have attended New York University and to have worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and that his grandparents had fled the Nazis during World War II.
Trump stated that Santos had been "very unfairly treated" in prison.
He added in a post on his platform Truth Social, "George Santos was a maverick, but there are many mavericks across our country who are not forced to spend seven years in prison."
He continued, "Therefore, I have just signed a decision to commute his sentence and release George Santos from prison immediately."
Santos had spent 11 months in prison, during which he was haunted by the scandals and was ignored by his fellow legislators and mocked by some comedians after his fabrication of much of his personal history was exposed.
