Rep. George Santos pleads not guilty to added campaign finance fraud charges
Lying Long Island Republican Rep. George Santos pleaded not guilty Friday to 10 additional campaign finance fraud charges during an arraignment hearing in Long Island federal court.
US District Judge Joanna Seybert set a trial date for Sept. 9, 2024, with a status conference to be held Dec. 12 of this year.
Santos, 35, faces a maximum sentence of 22 years in prison if convicted.
He also waived conflicts that were raised by federal prosecutors involving his lawyer, Joe Murray, who had past dealings with the congressman’s campaign treasurer.
The treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty earlier this month in a related case.
On the eve of his appearance, the 35-year-old Santos said he would not resign and was “entitled to due process and not a predetermined outcome as some are seeking.”
The rep from New York’s Third District was likely referring to a resolution to expel him from Congress that fellow Long Island GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito introduced on Thursday, along with four other Empire State Republican co-sponsors.
“The superseding indictment that he is going to court tomorrow for is based on his treasurer’s guilty plea,” Rep. Mike Lawler, one of the co-sponsors, told reporters. “So you have now a conviction in this case that very clearly lays out what he did and how he did it.”
The resolution also lists the whoppers Santos told about his personal and professional history, including that his grandparents escaped the Holocaust and his mother narrowly survived the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Outraged constituents and members of liberal advocacy groups shouted at Santos as he exited the courthouse and later erupted into chants of “Put that liar in the fryer!”
Richard Osthoff, a disabled veteran, was also in the crowd of protesters after claiming in January the future congressman “scammed” him out of $3,000 meant for his dying service dog.
“You killed my dog, George!” Osthoff yelled from the courthouse steps.
Jody Kass Finkel, a coordinator for Concerned Citizens of New York’s Third Congressional District, held a brief press conference demanding D’Esposito do more than pay “lip service” and follow through on his pledge to expel Santos.
“They have five votes, and Republicans in Congress have a margin of four,” Finkel said. “They have always had this power.”
Osthoff said during the presser that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) needed to “step up” and pressure his caucus to expel Santos if the congressman refuses to resign.
“I wonder who the most hated man is in Long Island: Is it Rex Heuermann or is it George Santos?” Osthoff asked, referring to the Gilgo Beach serial killing suspect.
“For the love of God, step down immediately before you suffer the embarrassment of going down in history books for being kicked out of Congress,” he said.
“You’re already embarrassing yourself every day by throwing public temper tantrums and using a baby as a human shield from reporters,” Osthoff said, referring to some of Santos’ antics during the House speakership fight.
Members of the left-leaning Empire State Voices and MoveOn also denounced Santos and called for his immediate resignation.
The indictment follows the 13 charges Santos was hit with in May for alleged embezzlement and lying to Congress — and Marks’ admission that she and the representative falsified loan and donor information.
Prosecutors with the Eastern District of New York unveiled the superseding charges against the congressman on Oct. 10, alleging he stole the identities of campaign donors and racked up $44,000 on their credit cards without authorization.
They also alleged that Santos falsely claimed to have loaned his campaign around $500,000 — despite his bank accounts registering less than $8,000 at the time.
The other allegations include inflating campaign funding numbers to qualify for a national party committee program and fibbing on finance reports that at least 10 Santos family members contributed to the congressman’s campaign.
Santos has called the recent charges against him “bulls–t” and said he will not resign.
“I don’t know the back ends and the back door systems of the FEC, how — how reports are filed, so to even blame me on false statements of the FEC is absolute bulls–t,” Santos told reporters the day after the charges were filed.
“I’ve never once even saw what a report looked like,” he insisted. “I didn’t handle the finances.”
The truth-challenged pol also hinted that he retained texts and emails between himself and Marks that would exonerate him.
