Republican Rep. George Santos of New York has been ordered to reveal who his bond co-signers are by the court.
Facing charges of wire fraud and money laundering, Santos has been unsuccessful in his attempts to prevent the public from discovering the identities of the individuals who co-signed his $500,000 bond.
Santos’ lawyer, Joseph Murray, had requested the court to keep the names of the bond guarantors confidential following a motion filed by several news organizations, including CNN, requesting the release of the names.
Bond co-Signers in Trouble?
Murray argued that revealing the identities and employment of the guarantors would likely result in unnecessary retaliation against them, and claimed that Santos would rather be detained before the trial than subject the guarantors to the inevitable consequences of disclosing their names.
CNN has contacted Murray for a comment regarding the magistrate judge’s decision, which has not been publicly disclosed.
After pleading not guilty to 13 federal charges, including 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 was released on bond and ordered to surrender his passport. He must obtain permission to travel outside of Washington, DC, New York City, and Long Island.
When asked why it is crucial to protect the identities of the individuals who guaranteed his $500,000 bond, Santos simply responded, “Because it is.”
Santos has the option to appeal the magistrate judge’s order on the bond co-signers to the district court. Meanwhile, the decision, along with previously sealed documents containing the co-signers names, will remain confidential until at least Friday.
After the lies, still running for re-election
Despite facing criticism and calls for resignation due to his extensive track record of falsehoods and fabrications, Santos, a freshman congressman, has declared that he will not step down from his position and intends to run for re-election next year.
The photo above is from a YouTube screen grab