


Former New York Republican Rep. George Santos is working with prosecutors in the hopes of striking a plea deal, according to court records and his recent comments surrounding the 23 felony charges he faces.
“The parties are presently engaged in plea negotiations with the goal of resolving this matter without the need for a trial,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert on Monday.
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Asked whether he would take a plea deal, Santos said Sunday that "a plea is not off the table obviously at this point.”
"But we just don't know that yet," Santos told WCBS-TV.
Santos is due in federal court in central Long Island for a status conference on Tuesday. If the case ultimately does head to a trial, prosecutors are expected to ask to move the proposed start of the trial from September to either May or June, according to the letter from the prosecutor. Santos opposes the government's bid for an earlier trial.
Prosecutors also want to hold another status conference in 30 days, saying that the additional time could help reach a deal to avoid a trial.
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Santos has been indicted on 23 federal charges and will face a real challenge in avoiding jail time, as a number of his former campaign staffers have already pleaded guilty to crimes they committed on his campaign.
Asked by WCBS whether he was afraid of being sent to jail, Santos responded, "I think everyone should be afraid of going to jail; it’s not a pretty place, and I definitely want to work very hard to avoid that as much as possible.”