Judge agrees to let George Santos summer in the Poconos while criminal case looms

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Louise Thomas

Editor

The Poconos are set to get another summering New Yorker: George Santos.

The former congressman, currently facing federal fraud charges, has won a bid to make regular visits to the low-key Pennsylvania vacation destination after a judge on Tuesday granted his request to make excursions there.

An attorney for Santos last week asked Judge Joanna Seybert if Santos could make weekly trips to the Mt. Pocono area, specifically to the town of Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania. Santos' travel is restricted as a condition of his release while he awaits trial. He is allowed to move within New York City, Long Island and Washington, D.C., as well as other trips provided he gives advance notice to the government, according to court records.

The legal filing said Santos had already been cleared to visit the Poconos but wanted to make weekly trips there this summer without submitting frequent travel requests to the judge. A lawyer for Santos declined to comment on Santos' summer plans in the Poconos.

Santos is facing a slew of criminal charges, including defrauding donors and lying to Congress. He has pleaded not guilty.

Santos was kicked out of the House in December after an ethics committee report found “overwhelming evidence” of lawbreaking, making Santos just the sixth member expelled by colleagues in the history of the chamber.