Will Trump Pardon George Santos?

As former New York Republican Rep. George Santos begins his more than seven-year sentence in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, it remains to be seen whether President Donald Trump will pardon him.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., penned a letter to Department of Justice Pardon Attorney Ed Martin Monday, requesting commutation for Santos’ “campaign-related charges.”

“While his crimes warrant punishment, many of my colleagues who I serve with have committed far worse offenses than Mr. Santos yet have faced zero criminal charges,” wrote Greene. “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.”

Trump, however, has not yet indicated interest in pardoning Santos, who was expelled from the House of Representatives in 2023 during his freshman term due to serial dishonesty and fraudulent claims.

Asked in a Newsmax interview that aired Friday if he would consider pardoning Santos, Trump replied, “He lied like hell, I have to tell you. And I didn’t know him, but he was 100% for Trump, but I didn’t—I might have met him maybe, maybe not, I don’t know. But he was a congressman and his vote was solid.” 

Santos was caught in a number of falsehoods and half-truths, such as claiming he worked for Goldman Sachs, that the September 11th attack led to his mother’s death, and that he was a star volleyball player at Baruch College.

Trump added in the interview, “Nobody’s talked to me about it… Is [his sentence] seven years? That’s a long time.”

For now, Santos is housed in a federal prison in New Jersey, and he is not underplaying how much he dislikes it.

“It’s not just the loss of freedom—it’s the erosion of your dignity. It’s realizing how many basic human rights we all take for granted on the outside,” wrote Santos in an article published Monday by The South Shore Press, a Long Island-based publication.

“The bathroom, though, deserves its own horror novel,” writes Santos. “The closest thing I can compare it to is an abandoned gym locker room from a forgotten high school—grim, damp, smelling of mildew and regret. You don’t go in there without flip-flops and prayer.”