Trump released disgraced former congressman George Santos from prison

President Donald Trump —the only convicted felon to occupy the White House— on Friday commuted the prison sentence of disgraced former Representative George Santos, ordering his immediate release just months into a seven-year term for fraud.

The decision follows a pattern of clemency for political allies and has spurred speculation that disgraced former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez could be the next beneficiary of this “No MAGA Left Behind” spirit.

The announcement, made via a post on the president’s social media platform, framed the decision as a corrective to an overly harsh justice system.

“George Santos was somewhat of a ‘rogue,’ but there are many rogues throughout our country that aren’t forced to serve seven years in prison,” Trump wrote. “Therefore, I just signed a commutation, releasing George Santos from prison immediately. Good luck, George—have a great life!”

Santos, the New York Republican who became a national spectacle for fabricating much of his life story and who was expelled from the House of Representatives, had begun his 87-month sentence in July at a federal prison in New Jersey.

He pleaded guilty to federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for deceiving donors and stealing identities.

A Pattern of Political Clemency

The commutation for Santos fits an established pattern in Trump’s use of presidential clemency power, which has frequently benefited political allies and those with personal connections.

Since returning to the Oval Office, Trump has issued over 1,560 clemencies, with the bulk granted to celebrities, politicians, Trump donors, and loyalists.

This latest act has fueled speculation about the fate of other convicted allies, most notably former Senator Bob Menendez.

However, Menendez’s attempts to win a reprieve have so far been unsuccessful. Despite publicly praising Trump and echoing his criticisms of the justice system, Menendez reported to federal prison in June to begin an 11-year sentence for corruption charges.

The Menendez Quandary: Gold Bars and Unanswered Pleas

Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who served for over three decades in Congress, was convicted on 16 felony counts, including bribery and acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Egypt.

The evidence presented at trial detailed a scheme in which he and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, including gold bars, cash, and a luxury Mercedes-Benz convertible.

In exchange, Menendez agreed to use his power as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to benefit the Egyptian government and several New Jersey businessmen, even providing sensitive, non-public information about the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.

Following his sentencing in January, Menendez explicitly aligned himself with Trump’s narrative of a weaponized justice system.

“President Trump is right. This process is political and has been corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores integrity to the system,” Menendez wrote in a social media post that tagged the president.

This was seen as a thinly veiled plea for clemency, part of a months-long campaign that included reaching out to Trump allies like Senator Lindsey Graham and figures in Jared Kushner’s circle, though these overtures were ultimately rebuffed.

The “No MAGA Left Behind” Doctrine

The spirit of the administration’s approach to pardons was perhaps best captured by Ed Martin, Trump’s appointed pardon attorney, who took to social media to declare, “No MAGA left behind.”

This philosophy has manifested in clemency for a growing list of politically connected individuals. In just the first few months of his second term, Trump has pardoned former governors of Connecticut and Illinois, former Republican representatives, and reality television stars after their daughter became a vocal supporter.

Trump has now granted clemency to a slew of corrupt politicians, allowing some of them to evade decades of prison time.

Critics argue this pattern indicates that corruption-related charges are not a priority for the administration, despite the damage such crimes do to public trust.

Trump also issued pardons for over 1500 January 6th terrorists and commuted the sentences for 14 other defendants who were convicted for their roles in the failed coup d’état and attack on the Capitol.

For now, the political cabaret of George Santos has a new, unexpected act. While the commutation frees him from prison, the conviction itself remains—a permanent stain on the brief and tumultuous career of a man who was, in the president’s own words, “somewhat of a ‘rogue.'”

The question hanging in the air, thick as the humidity in Washington, is whether “Gold Bar Bob” Menendez will remain the exception to the rule—or if, in the relentless churn of this political era, his time for a pardon will yet come.