Former New York Congressman George Santos was released from prison October 17 by President Trump after serving less than three months of his seven-year prison sentence for wire fraud and identity theft.
In a Truth Social post on October 17, 2025, President Trump wrote, “George Santos was somewhat of a ‘rogue,’ … has been horribly mistreated,” and that “Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence TO ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN”.
Santos, who identifies as an openly gay man, has faced numerous accusations of fraud and theft over the years, including using campaign funds for Botox injections, spa treatments and purchases on OnlyFans. In 2016 Navy veteran Richard Osthoff, who was homeless at the time, accused Santos of stealing $3000 from a GoFundMe account set up for his sick service dog, who later died.
In May 2023 federal prosecutors in New York charged Santos with 13 counts of money laundering, wire fraud and theft of public funds. In October of that year 10 additional federal charges were added.
Santos served 11 months in the House of Representatives and was expelled by his colleagues in December 2023, after the House Committee on Ethics reported the following: “Representative Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit … he blatantly stole from his campaign.”
Santos pled guilty to the wire fraud and identity theft charges in August 2024, and during the sentencing hearing the Associated Press reported that “Prosecutor Ryan Harris said some of Santos’ victims were ‘extremely vulnerable,’ including a woman with brain damage and two octogenarian men who have dementia.’’ Santos was sentenced in April 2025 to 87 months in prison.
On the day after his release from prison Santos wrote a post on X (formerly Twitter) thanking Jesus Christ and Donald Trump and adding “I am dedicating myself to doing good, to building bridges instead of walls.”
The expelled Congressman’s legal troubles may not be over yet. He could still face local charges in New York. In 2019 the New York Assembly passed a law that closed the so-called “double jeopardy” loophole, allowing state authorities to prosecute someone who receives a presidential pardon.
Anne Donnelly, the District Attorney in Nassau County New York, did not rule out the possibility of additional charges for Santos in a statement released on October 21, which read: “Since first learning of George Santos’ actions, I have been at the forefront of bringing him to justice. I am proud of the work my office has done, and the conviction achieved in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s office. While the office cannot comment on ongoing investigations, suffice it to say that I remain focused on prosecuting political corruption wherever it exists regardless of political affiliation.”