Former Representative George Santos from New York will not be obligated to pay any further fines or restitution following his criminal conviction, as per the clemency order unveiled on Monday.
Santos was freed from prison last Friday after former President Trump announced he had commuted the sentence of the ex-lawmaker, who had begun serving an 87-month term three months prior.
The clemency directive provides Santos “an immediate commutation of his entire sentence to time served, with no further fines, restitution, probation, supervised release, or other conditions.”
Santos had previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft under a plea agreement last summer, which also included a sentence of two years of supervised release and a restitution order exceeding $370,000.
During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, host Dana Bash questioned Santos about whether he would still need to fulfill the court-ordered restitution. Santos expressed uncertainty but stated he would comply with “whatever the law requires” of him.
“This concerns a fine and repaying money,” Bash remarked during the interview. “Whether you call them victims or just donors to the NRCC, the court ruled that they should be reimbursed. Will you make efforts to facilitate that?”
“Well, look, I can do my best to do whatever the law requires of me, so, I don’t know what that is. I’ve been out of prison for two days. I agreed to come here to speak with you candidly and openly and not to obfuscate,” Santos replied.
“If it’s required of me by the law, yes. If it’s not, then, no. I will do whatever the law requires me to do,” he added.
Santos was originally sentenced to a seven-year prison term after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was expelled from Congress after reports revealed he fabricated much of his resume and lied on campaign finance reports.
“George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated,” Trump wrote Friday in a statement on Truth Social.
“Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!” Trump added.
Joe Murray, Santos’s attorney, said the former congressman was released around 11 p.m. Friday.
