George Santos Is Expected to Plead Guilty, People Close to the Case Say
The New York Times
Mr. Santos could change his mind, but witnesses in his campaign fraud case were told by federal prosecutors that he intends to plead guilty on Monday.
George Santos, the former Republican congressman from New York undone by a mind-bending array of biographical lies and moneymaking schemes, has told prosecutors that he intends to plead guilty and avoid a federal trial that was expected to begin next month, according to a lawyer involved in the case and another person with knowledge of the matter.
The plea, which is expected to occur on Monday in Federal District Court in Central Islip, N.Y., would spare Mr. Santos from a trial that almost certainly would have been a colorful spectacle.
Mr. Santos, whose trial on 23 felony charges was scheduled to begin on Sept. 9, could still change his mind. But on Friday, a lawyer representing multiple witnesses in the case was told by federal prosecutors that Mr. Santos had decided to plead guilty.
Another person with knowledge of the plans confirmed that he is expected to plead guilty on Monday. The terms of his expected guilty plea and what sentence he might face were not clear.
Public court records show that an in-person hearing has been scheduled for Monday afternoon at the request of prosecutors and Mr. Santos’s lawyers. The records did not explain the purpose of the hearing. Representatives for the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of New York did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Mr. Santos and one of his lawyers, Joseph Murray.
The expected plea was first reported by Talking Points Memo.
