Expand / Collapse search
☰

Rep. George Santos seeking to keep bond cosigners secret to protect family members

By
Published  June 20, 2023 9:50pm EDT
George Santos
FOX 5 NY

Documents to be unsealed

FOX 5 NY's Sharon Crowley has the story.

NEW YORK - Rep. George Santos professed his innocence last month after being indicted for federal financial crimes. 

Santos insisted he's not guilty of duping donors, stealing from his campaign, lying to Congress and illegally collecting unemployment benefits.

As a freshman congressman fighting these charges, he's also trying to keep the names of the people who posted his half a million dollar bond a secret. 

Judge rules on public release of co-signers Santos bond

A federal judge in New York has granted the request to reveal the identities of individuals who assisted Rep. George Santos (R-NY) in posting a $500,000 bond for his criminal fraud case.

Media companies fought to have the names made public. 

Santos lost an appeal with the judge ruling that the identities of the people who posted bail for Santos will be made public.  

The documents are set to be unsealed by noon on Thursday. 

Jacqueline Goodman, a criminal defense lawyer who does not represent Santos, said those who posted the bond now have time if they want to pull out. 

Santos leaves the U.S. Capitol after the last votes of the week. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

"It's someone who is ensuring that the defendant remains free and if they don't come back to court, that person  is the one that has to pay the bond or pay the amount of money necessary to ensure his reappearance, so the bail amount is what the person would pay," Goodman told FOX 5 New York, adding, "The Judge is giving the defendant time to get his affairs in order and or to seek a ruling from a higher court, theoretically and so sometimes courts make orders that they know might be somewhat controversial and they give time before that order takes effect." 

Santos said he's just trying to protect family members by asking the courts to keep his bond cosigners secret. He said he's been the target of threats and his lawyer said Santos publicly notified the house ethics committee that those who signed his bond were family members and not lobbyists, donors or others seeking to influence the congressman.