Representative George Santos, a Republican from New York, throughout a information convention outdoors the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023.
Annabelle Gordon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Federal prosecutors on Monday mentioned in a court filing that they’re “engaged in plea negotiations” with former Rep. George Santos of New York to doubtlessly resolve his pending prison fraud case.
The disclosure got here in a letter from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn to Judge Joanna Seybert, proposing a joint agenda with Santos’ lawyer for a beforehand scheduled standing convention Tuesday in Long Island federal court.
“The events are presently engaged in plea negotiations with the aim of resolving this matter with out the necessity for a trial,” prosecutors wrote.
“The events want to proceed these negotiations over the following thirty days.”
A lawyer for Santos didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon the letter, which was the primary time that prosecutors had publicly mentioned there have been plea negotiations in the case.
Santos, 35, in an interview with CBS New York on Sunday mentioned, “Look, in the essence of the whole lot happening, a plea will not be off the desk, clearly, at this level.”
“I’m gonna negotiate the perfect I can,” he mentioned.
Santos, a Republican who had represented a district overlaying elements of Queens and Long Island, is charged with a number of counts of wire fraud, identification theft, and making false statements.
He was expelled by Congress initially of December following a scathing ethics report into his conduct. His elimination in the center of his first time period decreased an already ultra-slim majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
Santos at the moment is scheduled to go on trial subsequent September. Prosecutors on Monday renewed a request to start the trial in May or June.
Samuel Miele, a former marketing campaign fundraiser for Santos, final month pleaded responsible in Long Island federal court to wire fraud associated to impersonating a high aide to ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy whereas soliciting donations for Santos.
In October, Santos’ former marketing campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded responsible in the identical court to a number of marketing campaign finance felonies associated to her work for him.