George Santos is in plea deal talks because he wants to go BACK to Congress: Long Island liar could plead guilty to get his career black on track

Amid plea deal negotiations, George Santos says he is considering returning to Congress in the future after becoming only the sixth lawmaker in history to be impeached by his colleagues in the House of Representatives.

Santos, 35, left a court in Long Island on Tuesday after spending just 20 minutes inside for a hearing on charges including theft of public funds, money laundering and making false statements to the House of Representatives.

Wearing a blue blazer over a dark sweater, Santos declined to comment on the case to reporters as he left the courthouse.

“It's cold, go home,” he told a reporter.

A legal team from Santos was successful in preventing the prosecution's attempts to expedite the trial.

Former Rep. George Santos leaves court on Long Island on Tuesday after a 20-minute hearing

Santos' attorney Joseph Murray (left) managed to get the judge to move the case and allow the parties to focus on a plea deal for Santos (center)

The former lawmaker's attorney, Joseph Murray, expressed optimism Tuesday about plea deal negotiations in the criminal fraud case and asked the judge to let them focus on those conversations.

Meanwhile, Santos expressed the possibility that he might one day run for office again.

“I'm not done with public service yet, I want to go back to Congress,” Santos told WABC radio Tuesday morning in an interview broadcast in court.

He added: “I don't say today, I don't say tomorrow. I'm 35, I have a lot of things I need to sort out first, I think we all know that.'

On December 1, 206 Democrats and 105 Republicans voted to expel Santos from the House of Representatives. Two Democrats and 112 Republicans voted against the deportation, and 10 did not vote.

He is the only Republican ever expelled from Congress by his colleagues and only the sixth in the history of the House of Representatives.

Tuesday was his first court appearance since the deportation.

During the hearing on Tuesday, Santos' lawyer argued that it was premature to move the trial forward to September while the two sides are in talks to resolve the case with a settlement.

“We need to focus on the plea deal. I believe they can be fruitful,” Murray told Judge Joanna Seybert in federal court on Long Island.

Santos told WABC in a radio interview that aired Tuesday morning, “I'm not done with public service yet, I want to go back to Congress. I don't say today, I don't say tomorrow… I have a lot of things I have to take care of first'

Murray also argued that he had “difficulty” keeping track of “voluminous materials” produced by prosecutors during the discovery process.

Seybert agreed with Murray and said she would try to move the case and schedule the next hearing for Jan. 23.

Santos was not convicted of a federal crime before being deported and remains embroiled in a lawsuit for charges including bank fraud, theft of government funds, money laundering, identity theft and making false statements to Congress.

He was under ethics investigation in the House of Representatives following his frequent fraudulent statements while running for his seat in New York's Third Congressional District. The vote to expel him came after the Ethics report released in November implicated Santos in fraud.

But he still hopes to regain the trust of his district and the American people with potential future ambitions to return to public service.

Santos faces several criminal charges, including the most serious that he defrauded campaign donors and lied to Congress about his wealth.

The criminal case also alleges that the former lawmaker received unemployment benefits while employed and used campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses such as designer clothing.

Santos pleaded not guilty to charges in October.