George Santos Says His Family Helped Bail Him Out
It remains to be seen how his appeal before Judge Joanna Seybert will be received.
Mr. Santos, a Republican representing Long Island and parts of Queens, is facing 13 felony counts including money laundering and wire fraud. He has pleaded not guilty.
A group of media organizations, including The New York Times, requested last month that the identities of the people who guaranteed Mr. Santos’s bail bond be unsealed. The coalition contended that the names of those individuals were a matter of public interest, particularly given Mr. Santos’s position in Congress and the possibility that the bail arrangement could constitute an improper political gift.
In a motion filed on Monday, Mr. Murray shared a response he wrote to the Ethics Committee’s questions about bail, in which he pointed to House ethics rules that permit gifts from family members. At the time, it was not clear whether he was referring to some or all of the sureties. In Friday’s motion, he was more explicit.
Mr. Murray said that he would not oppose a targeted unsealing that would confirm to the public and to House investigators that Mr. Santos’s guarantors were family members, without fully revealing their names or exact relationships to Mr. Santos.
Though the suretors did not hand over actual money, they will be on the hook for the $500,000 if Mr. Santos flees prosecution. And while the Ethics Committee has not issued specific guidance on bail bonds, experts suggested the arrangement could run afoul of House gift rules if the sureties were not immediate relatives, spouses, extended family or in-laws.
Source: The New York Times
