George Santos fraud case heads to court again after pretrial setbacks

Former New York Republican Rep. George Santos‘s fraud case is inching toward its start with a pretrial court conference on Tuesday, moving closer to a rare moment in history when a member of Congress faces a jury of his peers on criminal charges.

Santos is accused of several financial crimes, including lying to Congress about his wealth, identity theft, collecting unemployment benefits while holding a job, theft of public money, and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses such as Botox and designer clothing.

He pleaded not guilty to his wide range of charges in October last year after U.S. Attorney Breon Peace added 17 new charges to the original six on Oct. 10, 2023.

Selected jury could be anonymous after new request

Jury selection begins on Sept. 9, with Santos requesting a partially anonymous jury and prosecutors seeking to admit pieces of evidence related to the former congressman’s other campaign controversies.

Santos’s lawyers filed the anonymous request on Aug. 6, asking that jurors’ identities only be known to the judge, the plaintiff and defendant, and their attorneys due to the media attention surrounding the case. In a court filing, Santos’s counsel said the publicity poses “significant risks” to “juror safety, privacy, and impartiality.”

“The extensive and largely negative media coverage, combined with the political nature of the case, creates a substantial risk that jurors could face harassment or intimidation if their identities are known, potentially compromising the fairness of the trial,” the lawyers wrote. “Additionally, the mere risk of public ridicule could influence the individual jurors’ ability to decide Santos’ case solely on the facts and law as presented in Court.”

On the other side, ahead of the Sept. 9 date, prosecutors are asking the judge to be allowed to submit evidence such as false claims that Santos graduated from both New York University and Baruch College or that he operated a family firm with nearly $80 million in assets.

Prosecutors argued in a 71-page court filing in early August that Santos’s fabrications about his background are “inextricably intertwined” with his criminal charges and would help “establish the defendant’s state of mind” at the time. They also are hoping to prevent Santos from arguing at trial that he faces a “vindictive or selective prosecution,” deriving from Santos’s numerous public statements that the charges against him are the result of a “witch hunt.”

Rough start for Santos after declined motion to dismiss

Santos recently faced a setback after a judge declined his motion to dismiss three charges of aggravated identity theft and theft of public money. The charges relate to accusations that Santos used donor credit card information to make donations not authorized by the owner. Prosecutors allege he tried to hide the money to evade campaign contribution limits as well.

The former congressman is facing little sympathy from his former party. Santos was ousted from Congress last year after an Ethics Committee report stated it found “substantial evidence” that he knowingly filed false or incomplete reports to the Federal Election Commission, used campaign funds for personal purposes, and “engaged in knowing and willful violations” in relation to the Ethics in Government Act.

An effort by Democrats to oust Santos failed in May last year, but a GOP-backed effort from New York Republicans successfully removed Santos from his seat, making him the sixth member to be expelled from Congress.

In March, Santos announced he was leaving the Republican Party after the “embarrassing” $1.2 trillion spending deal. He was running as a Republican in New York’s 1st Congressional District, held by Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY), but instead decided to run as an independent. Santos quickly withdrew that independent bid a month later.

At the time, a New York Republican told the Washington Examiner, “That’s short for: I’m taking a plea,” reacting to the news Santos suspended his campaign. Santos has not taken any plea deal at this time.

Both sides are due in court in Central Islip on Tuesday.