U.S. Rep. George Santos leaves the federal courthouse in Central Islip, N.Y., Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

George Santos appeals ruling to identify co-signers who paid his $500,000 bail

Cami Mondeaux June 09, 12:17 PMJune 09, 12:17 PM Video Embed

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) filed an appeal to a federal judge’s ruling earlier this week that would unseal the identities of three people who co-signed the freshman lawmaker’s $500,000 bond after he was indicted on criminal charges last month.

Santos appealed the decision Friday morning, requesting the motion be “denied in all respects.” The congressman refused to answer questions about the appeal earlier this week, telling reporters he would not discuss the matter.

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When asked why he thinks it’s important to protect the guarantors’ identities, he simply stated, “Because it is.” The names of those who helped pay his bail will remain under seal until a final decision is made, although the timeline for the case remains unclear.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Shields granted the request to unseal the names on Tuesday after several media organizations pushed the judge to reveal who helped secure Santos’s bail after he was charged with 13 criminal counts in May.

Defense attorneys for Santos have urged the court to keep the records sealed, arguing the guarantors would likely “suffer great distress, may lose their jobs, and God forbid, may suffer physical injury” if they were publicly identified.

In his appeal on Friday, the attorneys noted that Santos has already publicly revealed the co-signers “are family members and not lobbyists, donors or others seeking to exert influence over the Defendant.” As a result, the people would be exempt from laws requiring disclosure of gifts to Congress members, they wrote.

Santos’s legal team also pointed to the widespread media coverage of his indictment as evidence his suretors would face discrimination for their actions, claiming the congressman himself has been subject to “extremely angry, anti-gay, anti-Republican and all around antisocial” attacks.

“It is reasonable to conclude that if Defendant’s suretors are identified, that the attacks and harassment will commence against them too,” the filing states. “Moreover, given the political temperature in this Country and acts of political violence that occur, the privacy interests of these suretors are far more concerning, especially considering their ages and respective employment.”

The congressman also argued that if the suretors’ identities were revealed, they’d likely withdraw from their monetary support — making him susceptible to “more onerous conditions of release or may be subject to pretrial detention.”

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Lawmakers on the House Ethics Committee have also requested the names of the people as part of an inquiry into the payment, although Santos’s legal team has not provided that information, according to court filings. The Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the matter after the House voted to refer it to the panel, temporarily saving Santos from a high-profile expulsion.

Santos was released on a $500,000 bond after he was indicted by the Justice Department on 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. Santos has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has denounced the allegations as being politically motivated.

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