Prosecutors not ruling out state charges for commuted ex-Rep. George Santos
Former Congressman George Santos leaves court after being sentenced to 87 months in prison at the Alfonse D’Amato Federal Court House in Central Islip, New York, on April 25, 2025. J. Conrad Williams Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was freed from prison last week thanks to his federal fraud sentence being commuted by President Donald Trump — but he may not be free from criminal prosecution on the local level.
The district attorney’s office in Nassau County, which is home to part of the district Santos represented, declined to say what, if anything, prosecutors might be investigating that could warrant state charges.
“Since first learning of George Santos’ actions, I have been at the forefront of bringing him to justice,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement. “I am proud of the work my office has done, and the conviction achieved in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s office. While the office cannot comment on ongoing investigations, suffice it to say that I remain focused on prosecuting political corruption wherever it exists regardless of political affiliation.”
A spokeswoman for Donnelly’s office declined to elaborate.
Santos was three months into a seven-year prison sentence for deception, fraud and lying to Congress when Trump intervened, noting Santos “had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!”
According to the clemency grant, a photo of which was posted on X by U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, Trump granted Santos an “immediate commutation of his entire sentence to time served with no further fines, restitution, probation, supervised release, or other conditions.”
The ex-lawmaker was released from prison just before 11 p.m. on Friday night and was picked up by his family, according to a statement from his lawyer, Joe Murray.
Santos pleaded guilty to a series of fraud crimes and was sentenced in April to 87 months in prison — the maximum he faced — and two years of supervised release.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
James Comey speaks, May 30, 2023 in New York City. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge has dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James on the grounds that the appointment of the U.S. attorney who brought the indictments was invalid.
The judge dismissed the charges without prejudice, meaning the cases could potentially be refiled by an appropriately appointed U.S. attorney.
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie concluded that the appointment of Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was unconstitutional and that her actions bringing the case were “unlawful” and “ineffective.”
“Because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey’s motion and dismiss the indictment without prejudice,” she wrote.
Halligan, Trump’s handpicked U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, sought the indictment of Comey and James over the objections of career prosecutors after Trump forced out previous U.S. attorney Erik Siebert who sources said had resisted bringing the cases.
Halligan, who had no experience as a prosecutor, sought the indictment after Trump, in a social media post, called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to act “NOW!!!” to prosecute Comey, James and Rep. Adam Schiff.
Comey pleaded not guilty in October to one count of false statements and one count of obstruction of a congressional proceeding related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, amid what critics call Trump’s campaign of retribution against his perceived political foes.
Vice President JD Vance has said any such prosecutions are “driven by law and not by politics.”
James, who successfully brought a civil fraud case against Trump last year and leads multiple lawsuits challenging his administration’s policies, pleaded not guilty in October to charges that she committed mortgage fraud related to a home she purchased in 2020.
Prosecutors said she falsely described a property she purchased in Norfolk, Virginia, as a second home instead of an investment property in order to obtain a lower mortgage rate. James said she purchased the property for her great-niece and allowed her and her children to live in the house rent-free.
“I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country,” James said in a statement following the ruling. “I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day.”
With the statute of limitations for Comey’s case set to expire, it is unclear whether the case will be filed in time. Lawyers for Comey have argued that the statute of limitations has already run out.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks to the members of the media during a press conference, following Senate Democrats weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 30, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Wednesday — the first day of a government shutdown — once again failed to pass bills aimed at funding the government as congressional leaders continue to trade blame for the shutdown.
The Senate held two votes on funding bills that mirrored the failed votes they took on Tuesday, resulting in a government shutdown that took effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. Both failed — resulting in the government shutdown continuing.
The first vote was, once again, a procedural vote on the Democrats’ government funding proposal that includes the health care provisions they’ve been seeking. It failed by a vote of 47-53. As was the case on Tuesday night, every Democrat voted for it and every Republican voted against it.
The second vote in the series was a procedural vote on the clean, House-backed Republican stop-gap funding bill that failed Tuesday night. Democrats continued to hold the line during Wednesday’s vote, leading it to fail with a vote of 55-45.
Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and John Fetterman, as well as Independent Angus King, voted — as they had Tuesday — with Republicans to advance the GOP funding solution. But no additional Democrats broke ranks during the vote series. Republican Sen. Rand Paul voted no, so Republicans would have needed to pick up at least five more Democrats to advance this bill, which needed 60 votes to pass.
Majority Leader John Thune said that Republicans are on the hunt for those few additional Democrats to support their clean, short term funding bill.
In floor remarks ahead of the Wednesday votes, both leaders opened by blaming the other party.
“Here we are, Democrats have bowed to the far left and they’ve shut down the federal government,” Thune said on the floor. “As of this morning critical federal employees including members of the military, border patrol agents and air traffic controllers are working without pay and a number of government services are unavailable or at risk.”
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, said “Donald Trump and Republicans have barreled us into a shutdown because they refuse to protect America’s health care.”
Schumer, in his speech, said Republicans won’t be able to “bully” Democrats into stepping down from their demands that health care be addressed as part of government funding.
At a press conference Wednesday morning, Thune said Democrats “have taken the American people hostage in a way that they think benefits them politically, at the consequence of the cost of what’s going to happen to the American families if this government shutdown continues.”
Speaker Mike Johnson slammed Democrats during the Wednesday morning press conference.
“Every single bit of this was entirely avoidable,” Johnson said, adding that Democrats should pass the clean CR as they did in the House.
“Democrats in Congress have dragged our country into another reckless shutdown to satisfy their far-left base,” Johnson said. “Whether or not the government remains open or reopens is entirely up to them.”
Democrats hit back during a press conference of their own Wednesday morning.
“Republicans control the Senate, the House and the White House. They need Democratic votes to fund the government, so it’s on them to talk with us,” House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Pete Aguilar said.
On Tuesday, Schumer urged Republicans to come to the negotiating table.
“So, we want to sit down and negotiate, but the Republicans can’t do it in their partisan way, where they just say ‘It’s our way or the highway,’” Schumer reiterated at a news conference following Senate votes Tuesday night.
Schumer rehashed the failed votes on the Senate floor — placing the blame on Republicans who “have failed to get enough votes to avoid a shutdown.”
The Senate is expected to take votes on other matters in the afternoon and then they’re expected to depart for Yom Kippur. Though things could always change if some sort of deal is struck. The Senate is not expected to hold any additional votes on government funding until Friday at the earliest, all but assuring this shutdown stretches on at least until Friday.
ABC News’ Lauren Peller and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Friday denied reports that he’s made a decision to strike inside Venezuela.
“There are reports that you are considering strikes within Venezuela. Is that true?” a reporter asked the president on Air Force One as he traveled to Florida for the weekend.
“No,” Trump said.
The Miami Herald reported on Friday that the administration had made a decision to attack Venezuelan military installations and that it could happen imminently.
The reporter followed up by asking him, “Have you made a decision on that?”
“No, it’s not true,” Trump said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
