(The Hill) — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is urging the Trump administration to commute the sentence of former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., who was sentenced to seven years in prison earlier this year for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Greene shared a letter on Monday in a post on X that she said she had sent to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, urging President Trump to commute Santos’s sentence.
“A 7-year prison sentence for campaign-related charges is excessive, especially when Members of Congress who’ve done far worse still walk free,” Greene said in her post. “George Santos has taken responsibility. He’s shown remorse. It’s time to correct this injustice. We must demand equal justice under the law!”
Nancy Mace bringing ‘Trump in high heels’ mindset to governor’s run
Santos, 37, surrendered to the Federal Correctional Institution Fairton in New Jersey in late July, officially capping off the New York Republican’s dramatic rise-and-fall in politics that saw him ascend as a GOP trailblazer before plunging to disgrace.
After Santos was elected to the House of Representatives in 2022, the story he’d told about his life began to unravel, exposing a series of outlandish lies. He was hit with 23 felony charges less than a year into his first term, spanning wire fraud and aggravated identity theft to false statements and falsifying records.
Santos recognized his drama-filled tenure in Congress in a social media post published the day before he reported to prison.
“Commuting his sentence would acknowledge the severity of his actions and simultaneously provide a path forward in allowing him to make amends for his crimes and strive to better serve the people in his community,” Greene said in her letter.
What is the Hatch Act? Why Jack Smith is under investigation
Greene’s plea comes after Trump didn’t rule out a pardon for Santos during a Newsmax interview that aired on Friday.
“He lied like hell,” Trump said in the interview.
“And I didn’t know him, but he was 100% for Trump,” he continued, adding that “his vote was solid” when he was in Congress.
The president also said that no one has talked to him about a pardon for the former GOP lawmaker, who was expelled from the House in 2023. Santos has said he will be seeking clemency from Trump.
