U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that he has signed an order granting an immediate release to former Republican congressman George Santos, who had been convicted of wire fraud and identity theft.
Santos, aged 37, had begun serving a seven-year federal prison sentence, but was behind bars for less than three months before being released by Trump. According to his lawyer Joe Murray, Santos was freed on Friday evening and reunited with his family.
In a social media post, Trump praised Santos as a man of “courage, conviction, and intelligence” who “always voted Republican.” He thanked the former congressman for his political service and loyalty to the Republican Party, CNN reports.
Santos had been convicted in April after admitting to defrauding campaign donors by using the identities of others, including family members, to secure funds for his election campaign.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, which prosecuted Santos, has declined to comment on his release.
