Embattled freshman Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) was bailed out of federal custody by his aunt and father when he was indicted last month on 13 federal offenses, according to new court filings unsealed Thursday—fulfilling a request from the House Ethics Committee as it seeks to determine whether the guarantors’ support violated ethics rules.
Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., leaves the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, May 25, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll ... [+]
Santos’ aunt, Elma Santos Preven, and his father, Gercino Dos Santos, paid the $500,000 bond a judge required to free him from federal custody when he was indicted on charges including wire fraud and theft of public funds last month, he told ABC, moments before the names were made public by the court.
Santos and his attorneys waged a fierce battle for the names to be kept private, arguing the guarantors would revoke their support if their identities were released and asserting that Santos would rather go to jail than reveal his guarantors.
But New York federal judges ultimately dismissed his challenge to the order and subsequent appeal and said Santos could seek to modify the conditions of his release if the bond guarantors withdrew their support.
The guarantors were revealed following a request from the House Ethics Committee, which is investigating Santos over irregularities in his financial disclosure forms as well as a sexual misconduct allegation, as it seeks to examine whether the guarantors violated ethics rules surrounding gifts to public officials, while media organizations argued the names were a matter of public interest.
Santos’ lawyer, Joseph Murray, suggested in a letter to the Ethics Committee that Santos’ guarantors were family members who constituted an exception to ethics rules regarding gifts.
Federal prosecutors in New York charged Santos with 13 counts, including fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress in May, alleging he used campaign donations for personal expenses, including designer clothing purchases and credit card payments. Santos is also accused of illegally collecting unemployment benefits from the state of New York for nearly a year, despite earning a $120,000 salary from a Florida investment firm. Prosecutors also allege he failed to file financial disclosure statements and falsified statements during both his 2020 and 2022 House campaigns. Santos has pleaded not guilty to all 13 counts.
Santos became embroiled in scandal shortly after he was elected in November to represent a Long Island district when The New York Times revealed he fabricated large swaths of his personal and professional background, including claims he worked on Wall Street and Broadway, his mother survived the September 11 terrorist attacks, he has a mixed Jewish-Catholic background, and he lost employees in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, among other purported lies. He has refused to heed calls from his GOP colleagues and other Congress members and local Republican party members for him to step down from Congress and said repeatedly he believes he will be vindicated in both the House Ethics Committee probe and his criminal case.
The House Ethics Committee is investigating Santos for possible unlawful activity during his House campaign last year, conflict of interest violations, missing information on his House financial statements and an allegation of sexual misconduct raised by a job applicant. Santos has said he would resign if the committee recommended it, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has said he would seek to remove Santos from Congress if the committee found wrongdoing on his behalf.
Santos Under House Ethics Investigation For Financial Claims And Sexual Misconduct Allegation (Forbes)
George Santos Charged With Federal Wire Fraud And Money Laundering (Forbes)
Here Are The Allegations Against George Santos, Indicted On Fraud Charges (Forbes)