Lying Long Island Republican Rep. George Santos pleaded not guilty Friday to 10 additional counts of campaign finance fraud during an arraignment hearing in Long Island federal court.
U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert set a trial date for September 9, 2024, with a status conference to be held on December 12 of this year.
Santos, 35, faces a maximum sentence of 22 years in prison if convicted.
He also waived disputes raised by federal prosecutors involving his attorney, Joe Murray, who had previous dealings with the congressman’s campaign treasurer.
Treasurer Nancy Marks pleaded guilty earlier this month in a related case.
On the eve of his appearance, Santos, 35, said he would not resign and that he had “the right to due process and not to a predetermined result as some claim.”
The representative from New York’s Third District was likely referring to a resolution to expel him from Congress that Long Island Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito introduced Thursday, along with four other Empire State Republican cosponsors.
“The superseding indictment that you’re going to court tomorrow is based on your treasurer’s guilty plea,” Rep. Mike Lawler, one of the co-sponsors, told reporters. “So now you have a conviction in this case that states very clearly what he did and how he did it.”
Republican Rep. George Santos pleaded not guilty to 10 additional counts of campaign finance fraud on Friday during an arraignment hearing in federal court on Long Island.REUTERS George Santos leaves federal court in Central Islip on Friday.Kevin C. Downs for NY Post
The resolution also lists lies Santos told about his personal and professional history, including that his grandparents escaped the Holocaust and his mother narrowly survived the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Outraged voters and members of liberal advocacy groups shouted at Santos as he left the courthouse and then erupted into chants of “Put that liar in the fryer!”
Richard Osthoff, a disabled veteran, was also among the crowd of protesters after claiming in January that the future congressman “scammed” him out of $3,000 intended for his dying service dog.
“You killed my dog, George!” Osthoff shouted from the courthouse steps.
Jody Kass Finkel, coordinator of Concerned Citizens for New York’s Third Congressional District, held a brief press conference demanding that D’Esposito do more than pay “lip service” and make good on his promise to oust Santos.
“They have five votes and the Republicans in Congress have a margin of four,” Finkel said. “They’ve always had this power.”
Osthoff said during the news conference that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) needed to “step up” and pressure his caucus to oust Santos if the congressman refuses to resign. .
“I wonder who the most hated man on Long Island is: is it Rex Heuermann or George Santos?” Osthoff asked, referring to the Gilgo Beach serial murder suspect.
“For the love of God, resign immediately before you suffer the shame of going down in the history books for being expelled from Congress,” he said.
“You’re already embarrassing yourself every day by throwing tantrums in public and using a baby as a human shield in front of reporters,” Osthoff said, referring to some of Santos’ antics during the House speaker fight.
Members of the left-wing groups Empire State Voices and MoveOn also denounced Santos and called for his immediate resignation.
The indictment follows Santos’ 13-count indictment in May for allegedly embezzling and lying to Congress, and Marks’ admission that she and the representative falsified information about loans and donors.
People protest outside the courthouse as they wait for U.S. Rep. George Santos to leave the federal courthouse in Central Islip. Getty Images Santos greets the media as he leaves the court.AP
Prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York unsealed superseding charges against the congressman on October 10, alleging that he stole the identities of campaign donors and ran up $44,000 on their credit cards without authorization.
They also alleged that Santos falsely claimed to have loaned his campaign around $500,000, even though his bank accounts recorded less than $8,000 at the time.
The other accusations include inflating campaign finance figures to qualify for a party national committee program and lying about financial reports that at least 10 members of the Santos family contributed to the congressman’s campaign.
The accusation arises after the 13 charges that were brought against Santos in May for alleged embezzlement of funds and lying to Congress. REUTERS
Santos called the recent charges against him “nonsense” and said that will not resign.
“I don’t know the backends and the backdoor systems of the FEC, how… how the reports are filed, so even blaming me for false FEC statements is absolute nonsense,” Santos told reporters the day after charges were filed.
“I never saw what a report looked like,” he insisted. “I didn’t handle the finances.”
The politician questioned by the truth also suggested that he kept text messages and emails between him and Marks that would exonerate him.
People protest in front of the court.REUTERS Protesters hold signs and shout as Santos leaves the courthouse on Friday, October 27, 2023.Kevin C. Downs for NY Post
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn