U.S. Rep. George Santos pleaded not guilty on Oct. 27 to revised charges accusing him of several frauds, including making tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges on credit cards of some of his campaign donors.
The New York Republican appeared at a courthouse on Long Island to enter a plea against the new charges. He had already pleaded not guilty to other charges, first filed in May, accusing him of lying to Congress about his wealth, applying for and receiving unemployment benefits even though he had a job, and using campaign contributions to pay personal expenses, such as designers. clothing.
The court appearance came the morning after some of Santos’ Republican colleagues from New York attempted to expel him from Congress.
Mr. Santos’ attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and a preliminary court date was set for September 9, 2024.
Mr Santos has been released on bail pending trial. He has denied any serious wrongdoing and blamed irregularities in his government filings on his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, who he says “has gone rogue.”
Ms. Marks, in turn, implicated Santos. When she recently pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge, she told a judge that she helped Mr. Santos deceive Republican party officials into supporting his 2022 run for office through fake Federal Election Commission documents that made him look richer than he was in reality, in part by listing an imaginary $500,000 loan that supposedly came from his personal wealth.
Mr. Santos has continued to represent his New York district in Congress since he was indicted, rebuffing calls for his resignation from several fellow New York Republicans.
U.S. Representative Anthony D’Esposito, who represents a congressional district adjacent to the one Mr. Santos chose, introduced a resolution on Oct. 26 calling for Mr. Santos’ expulsion from the House of Representatives. He says he is not fit to hold office. ingredients. He was joined by four other New York Republicans, U.S. Reps. Nick LaLota, Michael Lawler, Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams.
Mr Santos posted a cryptic note on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying: “Everything has an end in life,” but later added three points of clarification.
“1. I haven’t cleaned up my office. 2. I am not resigning. 3. I have the right to a fair trial and not to a predetermined outcome as some desire,” he wrote.
He has previously said he plans to seek re-election next year, although he could face a lengthy prison sentence if convicted.
During his successful run for office in 2022, Mr. Santos was strengthened by an uplifting life story that later turned out to be full of fabrications. Among other things, he never worked for the major Wall Street investment firms where he claimed to have worked, did not go to college where he claimed to have been a star volleyball player, and misled people about having Jewish ancestry.
Although Mr. Santos has not faced criminal charges in connection with the lies he told the public, he faces accusations that he made his image of a fortune in the investment world through a false financial disclosure to the U.S. House of Representatives. Submit delegates.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.