Watch: George Santos arrives at court ahead of corruption trial
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Watch as George Santos arrived at court on Long Island on Tuesday, 13 August, for a hearing ahead of his corruption trial.
The former congressman, who was expelled from the US House of Representatives, is on trial on charges that include defrauding campaign donors.
Mr Santos, who was elected in 2022, represented parts of Queens and Long Island.
He became the sixth lawmaker in history to be expelled from the House of Representatives in December and dropped a bid to return to Congress as an independent in April.
Prosecutors have accused Mr Santos of a range of crimes including lying to Congress about his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits while actually working, and using campaign contributions to pay for such personal expenses as designer clothing.
He pleaded not guilty to a revised indictment in October.
Aggravated identity theft charges pertain to allegations that Mr Santos used campaign donors' credit card information to make repeated contributions they hadn't consented to.
Prosecutors also he also tried to hide the true source of the money — and evade campaign contribution limits — by listing the source of the donations as some of his relatives and associates, without their assent.
Mr Santos' lawyers argue that the aggravated identity theft charges were invalid as, in the defense's view, the allegations amounted only to overcharging credit card accounts that had been willingly provided to him.
Mr Santos has requested a partially anonymous jury; his lawyers argued in court filings last week that individual jurors’ identities should only be known by the judge, the two sides and their attorneys due to the high level of attention around the case and their client. They said the publicity poses “significant risks” to “juror safety, privacy, and impartiality.”
“The extensive and largely negative media coverage, combined with the political nature of the case, creates a substantial risk that jurors could face harassment or intimidation if their identities are known, potentially compromising the fairness of the trial,” Santos’ lawyers wrote.
“Additionally, the mere risk of public ridicule could influence the individual jurors ability to decide Santos’ case solely on the facts and law as presented in Court.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments