Thirteen counts in DOJ indictment of George Santos who is now in custody

ItsSimpleSimon

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Wednesday May 10, 2023 · 6:45 AM PDT

2023/05/10 · 06:45

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UPDATE: Wednesday, May 10, 2023 · 7:24:02 PM +00:00 · ItsSimpleSimon

Santos’ arraignment took place this afternoon — he was released, on $500,000 bond, underwritten by three unknown donors/sponsors (none known as Stone or Crow AFAIK). He is confined to being in either NYC or DC.

This also means he could still appear on the House floor, vote on measures and pursue his (surely now half-dead) reelection efforts.

Mr. Santos, 34, pleaded not guilty to all charges at a hearing in federal court on Long Island on Wednesday afternoon. He will be released from custody on $500,000 bond that will be secured by three individuals, whose identities are not public, and his travel will be restricted to New York, Washington and places in between.

This is earlier than the prior date indicated by the NYT. The original Santos story link below in body of diary should take you to the same update at the Times.

UPDATE: Wednesday, May 10, 2023 · 3:22:58 PM +00:00 · ItsSimpleSimon

A little fun from the pen of Andy Borowitz.

George Santos Claims Arraignment Conflicts with His Role in N.B.A. Playoffs

Representative George Santos told reporters that he would be unable to face federal charges in New York City because of his ongoing role in the N.B.A. playoffs.

“We’re looking at a pivotal Game Five against the Golden State Warriors and now is not the time to let up,” Santos, who claimed to play small forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, said.

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“Right now, the most important thing to me is bringing the N.B.A. championship trophy back to Los Angeles,” he said. “Anyone who tells you different is a liar.”

UPDATE: Wednesday, May 10, 2023 · 2:48:55 PM +00:00 · ItsSimpleSimon

I am updating the story, not with news about the indictment per se, rather with a clarification concerning Santos’ ability, if he becomes confined for a period, to vote in the House. This subject has, both explicitly and implicitly, appeared in the comment threads.

This is, as I see it, highly unlikely to happen. It would demand that the GOP House majority act against the rules they adopted at the onset of this session.

The method by which the House was voting “remotely” while COVID raged was via proxy voting - in which the absent legislators intent would be voiced on the floor by a fellow member of their caucus who was present and authorized to act on their behalf.

Lawmakers no longer have to walk through metal detectors before gaining access to the House floor. And any time they do vote, they will have to do so in person — no more voting by proxy from home.

Those are just some of the changes being made by the now GOP-led House that had chafed at some of the restrictions Democrats put in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Jan. 6 insurrection.

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As the pandemic surged in the U.S. and the death toll reached more than 80,000, the House approved new rules allowing lawmakers to vote by proxy. Under the process, they assigned their vote to another lawmaker who then announced on the House floor how the absent lawmaker was voting on a particular bill.

Republicans opposed the change from the start, though many used proxy voting after it went into effect. And hewing to their campaign promise, they made sure the House rules provide no option for remote voting.

The NYT has the full indictment of George Santos up for your reading pleasure. (Free link).

There are a total of thirteen separate charges. These include 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 also surrendered himself to the authorities and is presently in custody. (Also a free link).

Representative George Santos, the Republican whose pivotal victory in New York was soon followed by revelations that he had falsified his biography on the campaign trail, surrendered to the authorities at federal court on Long Island on Wednesday morning.

The first hearing in the case is set for Thursday.

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Thirteen counts in DOJ indictment of George Santos who is now in custody

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