UPDATE (June 6, 2023, 2:06 p.m. ET): A judge on Tuesday agreed to unseal the names of the people who cosigned Rep. George Santos’ $500,000 bond last month.
It’s been about a month since Rep. George Santos’ troubles reached a striking new level: Federal prosecutors charged the New York Republican with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
The congressman surrendered to the authorities on May 10; he pleaded not guilty at his arraignment, and he was released on $500,000 bond. An NBC News report added at the time that Santos was ordered to surrender his passport and submit to pretrial services.
Soon after, a variety of questions were unavoidable. Would Santos resign? Would House GOP leaders try to force him out? Would he soon face other charges as a result of other investigations?
But another line of inquiry soon emerged: What were the details surrounding the congressman’s $500,000 bond? As the Associated Press reported, Santos really doesn’t want to talk about it.
Rep. George Santos’ lawyer said Monday the indicted New York Republican would risk going to jail to protect the identities of the people who cosigned the $500,000 bond enabling his pretrial release.
This is not entirely new. On May 23, The New York Times reached out to the judge in the case, asking for the names of Santos’ bond suretors to be unsealed, citing a “compelling public interest in maintaining the greatest transparency possible in these proceedings.” Soon after, other news organizations sought the same information. What is new is the response to the media’s request. The AP’s report added: [Joseph Murray, the congressman’s lawyer] said Santos originally lined up three financially responsible cosigners as suretors, but one backed out and the other two didn’t show up to his arraignment. That forced them to make “other confidential arrangements” to ensure Santos’ release, Murray said.
Given the Republican lawmaker’s recent history, the phrase “confidential arrangements” does not inspire confidence. Neither does the apparent fact that Santos is willing to risk going to jail rather than disclose the names of his backers. The congressman is due back in court on June 30. Watch this space.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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