Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling for President Donald Trump to commute the sentence of her former colleague George Santos, who reported to a federal prison last month after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
In a letter to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, Greene said she believed the former New York congressman’s seven-year sentence “extends far beyond what is warranted” and accused current members of Congress of committing “far worse offenses,” though she didn’t specify which individuals or actions she was referring to.
Santos, who was expelled from Congress in 2023 just months into his first term, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison in April after pleading guilty last year, and has been incarcerated since July 25.
“I wholeheartedly believe in justice and the rule of the law, and I understand the gravity of such actions,” Greene wrote in the letter, which she shared on the social media platform X on Monday night. “However, I believe a seven-year sentence for such campaign-related matters for an individual with no prior criminal record extends far beyond what is warranted.”
Greene went on to say that Santos “committed himself to serving his constituents and did whatever it took to represent their interests in Washington, D.C,” adding that “he is sincerely remorseful and has accepted full responsibility for his actions.”
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“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,” Greene said. “I strongly believe in accountability for one’s actions, but I believe the sentencing of Mr. Santos is an abusive overreach by the judicial system.”
“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,” she continued.
Trump has granted clemency to a number of people since he was sworn in for his second term, including some of his own supporters who had been convicted or charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. He has also pardoned multiple former politicians who were convicted of a variety of charges, including fraud and campaign finance offenses.
When asked about Santos in an interview with the right-wing cable news channel Newsmax on Friday, Trump acknowledged that the former New York congressman “lied like hell” but didn’t close the door on the possibility of pardoning him, saying, “Nobody’s talked to me about it.”
Santos’s brief time in Congress was dominated by controversy after the New York Times reported that he had lied about key parts of his biography and campaign, including claiming he had worked at prestigious Wall Street firms. He was expelled from Congress following his indictment on nearly two dozen criminal charges and the release of a House Ethics Committee report finding that there was “substantial evidence” he violated federal law.
Roughly three-quarters of the House voted to expel him, including 105 Republicans. Greene was one of the 112 Republicans who voted against expelling Santos.
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