Lawyers for George Santos are having “productive” talks with the feds about a possible plea deal in his fraud case, they told a judge Tuesday, as the ousted Long Island lawmaker said he wants to return to Congress.
The New York Republican was in federal court in Central Islip for a hearing in his embezzlement and identity fraud case, wearing his usual suit and sweater uniform paired with $1,000 black Salvatore Ferragamo sneakers, which he told the journalists he was carrying “because I hurt my foot.” “
But before appearing in court, Santos, 35, told WABC radio’s Frank Morano: “I’m not done with public service. “I want to return to Congress.”
“I’m not saying it today. I’m not saying tomorrow,” Santos said on the radio program “The Other Side of Midnight” early Tuesday morning. “I have a lot of things I need to take care of first. “I think we all know that, but I’m hopeful that I’ll try to regain the trust of the American people and go there because I’ll continue to expose and root out the rot in our federal government.”
In court, Santos’ attorney, Joseph Murray, told Judge Joanna Seybert that the Sept. 9, 2024, trial date should not be moved up, as the feds are pushing, because the defense team has been fighting for review the more than 1.3 million pages. of evidence provided by prosecutors.
Lawyers for George Santos told a judge his team is in “productive” talks with the feds to reach a plea deal, as the ousted lying Republican said he wanted to return to Congress. AP
“We’ve been scrambling to go through all that material,” Murray said. “There are still a million more documents we have to review.”
“We are having productive conversations,” the lawyer said. “I think this could be fruitful if we focus on that.”
But prosecutor Jacob Steiner said he wanted to move the trial to June.
Seybert noted that things could move faster for Santos’ team since “we don’t have the problem of the accused having to go to Washington.” [DC] on a regular basis.”
Santos’ lawyers said they are drowning in the evidence handed over by the feds, since he opposed moving forward his client’s trial. REUTERS
Still, the judge said her schedule was behind schedule, largely due to the residual effect of the pandemic-era court slowdown, and she would not be able to offer a trial before September anyway.
He warned that Santos’ lawyers must “come on board” and stay abreast of the discovery of the case since “the government also has the right to a speedy trial.”
Santos did not answer reporters’ questions while waiting for an elevator after the hearing, instead simply saying, “I would like you to take a break from saying my name.”
Prosecutors asked the judge to move the trial from September 2024 to June 2024. Bloomberg via Getty Images
On the radio show Santos, who was expelled from the House of Representatives earlier this month, said New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez should not be expelled from office until he faces trial for corruption.
“The reality is that Senator Menéndez has the right to the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise,” Santos told Morano. “He is accused. And don’t forget, Senator Menéndez is a perfect example of someone who has defeated the [Department of Justice] in a hung jury in the past.”
“I’m not done with public service. I want to return to Congress,” Santos told WABC radio. AP
Santos has pleaded not guilty to a 23-count indictment for which he faces more than 22 years in prison if convicted.
Since Santos’ ouster, he has reportedly been making money from the video-sharing app Cameo, where ordinary people can pay celebrities to film messages such as well wishes and pep talks.
Santos is due back in court on January 23.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn