Relatives of accused congressman George Santos posted his $500,000 bail in his wire fraud and money laundering case, it was revealed Friday in Santos’ appeal of a judge’s ruling to make public the names of guarantors.
In an appeal filed Friday morning, Santos’ attorney, Joseph Murray, attacked federal judge Anne Y. Shields’ order to release the identities, in which the judge sided with the agencies. of news, including Newsday.
“Defendant has essentially publicly disclosed that the underwriters are family members and not lobbyists, donors, or others seeking to exert influence over Defendant, contrary to Judge Shield’s assertion that,”[t]here is no way to quell such speculation and foster confidence in the judicial process, but to reveal the identities of the Suretors,” Murray wrote in his appeal, citing a letter he wrote to the Ethics Committee of the Chamber after inquiring about the identities of the underwriters.
Murray, who argued that the sureties would be subject to “attacks and harassment” if their names were revealed, offered what he called “a more palatable remedy that satisfies the interests of both parties” to provide the documents from the bail, but with the names redacted. Murray said family members are exempt from gift bans to members of Congress.
“To the extent it is possible to remove a portion of sealed records or court proceedings to reveal the existence of a “family” relationship between the defendant and the underwriters without identifying the name or type of family member, the defendant would have no objection.” Murray wrote.
Lawyers for Newsday and other news outlets have argued that the names of the endorsers are public records. The government has not taken any position on the issue.
Murray also argued that bailiffs fulfill “a vital judicial and law enforcement role” as the “first line of enforcement” in monitoring the whereabouts of defendants and said the ability would be at risk if his identity was revealed. Already, Murray said, a third insurer dropped the case because of the media attention.
“The resulting media frenzy contributed greatly to our third potential underwriter changing their mind and pulling out,” Murray said. “There is a great concern for the health, safety and welfare of our two insurers, which unfortunately was not shared by Judge Shields, at least as a factor in his privacy concerns.”
Prosecutors said the first-term Republican congressman orchestrated a series of schemes while running for Congress, including defrauding political donors, fraudulently receiving authorized COVID-19 unemployment benefits even though he had job and lying on his financial disclosure forms to Congress.
Santos, already under fire for lying about much of his resume and personal information, pleaded not guilty at his May 10 arraignment in Central Islip federal court to seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering money, a robbery. of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives as part of schemes that prosecutors said began in 2020.
Santos faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the top charges if convicted and the possible confiscation of his assets.
Santos has ignored calls to resign and announced he is seeking re-election.
Murray, in his appeal, said Santos has been the subject of “hate attacks” that have been “extremely angry, anti-gay, anti-republican and anti-social” and shed light on how the government helped Santos to avoid outside journalists. the court before being judged.
“On the morning of May 10, 2023, as the media began to gather outside the Courthouse, I received a call from AUSA Harris who kindly offered the services of our FBI agents to arrange an alternative means for my client to enter the Courthouse,” Murray wrote. “Even the government recognizes the unique and potentially dangerous/harassing environment the defendant has been subjected to, as the government was kind enough to offer assistance in getting the defendant into the courthouse on the 10 of May 2023, avoiding the mass of media that had appeared at the courthouse.
Murray continued: “It is reasonable to conclude that if the defendant’s insurers are identified, the attacks and harassment against them will also begin. Furthermore, given the political temperature in this country and the acts of political violence that occur , the privacy interests of these insurers. are much more concerning, especially given their ages and their jobs.”
Nicole Fuller is Newsday’s senior criminal justice reporter. He started working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
