Rep. George Santos of New York appeared briefly in federal court Friday in Long Island for what attorneys called a “basic status conference” as the criminal case against him moves forward.
It was the first court appearance since the Republican congressman pleaded not guilty last month to a 13-count indictment charging him with fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds.
The government has turned over 80,000 pages of material to Santos’ legal team, prosecutor Ryan Harris told the judge, opening discovery in the case.
Santos, who has denied wrongdoing, said nothing during the hearing.
Their lawyer, Joe Murray, told the judge they have had a “wonderful working relationship” with the government so far and asked for the next hearing to take place in September, saying they would use the August congressional recess to review the documents.
When the judge suggested Sept. 14 as the next date, Murray noted that Santos would already be back in session.
At the time, the next court date was scheduled for September 7.
George Santos arrives in federal court on June 30, 2023 in Central Islip, New York
John Minchillo/AP
Friday’s appearance comes a week after it was revealed that Santos’ father and aunt posted his $500,000 bail, according to court documents released over the congressman’s objection.
ABC News’ Rachel Scott was the first to report that Santos’ bond was guaranteed by Gercino dos Santos Jr. and Elma Santos Preven.
Under the terms of the bond, none of them were required to provide funds to release Santos, only to be financially responsible “if the defendant fails to comply with the conditions” of his release.
Santos maintained that he objected to the names being sealed for fear of harassment.
“I can handle it; I ran for public office,” he told reporters. “They didn’t; they’re private citizens.”
Santos, who has been accused of misrepresenting large parts of his work history, education and family history, has admitted he lied about parts of his background while running for Congress.
He also faces an investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which issued a rare letter last week saying the committee had issued more than 30 subpoenas and more than 40 voluntary requests for information in the your research
The group also said it had expanded its investigation to investigate allegations of unemployment insurance fraud.
