New York Republican Rep. George Santos leaves the U.S. Capitol after members of Congress voted to expel him from the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., on December 1, 2023.
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Former U.S. Rep. George Santos wants potential jurors in September’s fraud trial to be questioned about what they think of him.
The request is one of many issues a judge is expected to consider during a hearing Tuesday in federal court on Long Island. Santos has pleaded not guilty to a range of financial crimes, including lying to Congress about his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits while actually working and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses such as designer clothing.
Lawyers for the New York Republican argued in recent court filings that the writing “about potential jurors’ knowledge, beliefs and stereotypes” was necessary because of widespread negative media coverage of Santos. expelled from congress In December, he broke the law and exploited his public position for private gain after an ethics investigation found “overwhelming evidence”.
They cited more than 1,500 articles from major news outlets and “saturday night liveThey also noted that similar questionnaires have been used in other high-profile federal cases in New York, including the trial of notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
“For all intents and purposes, Santos has been found guilty in the court of public opinion,” the defense memorandum filed last week reads. “This pervasive prejudicial publicity is likely to result in potential jurors being exposed to unacceptable and prejudicial information and forming a negative perception of Santos, thereby jeopardizing his right to a fair trial.”
But prosecutors expressed objections in a legal brief on Friday, arguing that Santos’ request was just a delaying tactic because the trial date was set more than nine months ago and about 850 potential jurors were summoned in September. Appear in court on the 17th.
They argued that public perception of Santos was “largely of his own making” because he spent months “courting and attracting” media attention.
“His attempts to complicate and delay these proceedings through the use of lengthy, cumbersome and time-consuming questionnaires is another example of Santos seeking to use his public image as both a sword and a shield,” they wrote. “The court must He cannot be allowed to do this.”
Lawyers for Santos, who did not respond to an email seeking comment, also asked the court in legal filings last week to consider Partially anonymous jury for the coming trial.
They said that because of the high-profile nature of the case, the identities of individual jurors should be known only to the judge, both parties and their attorneys.
Prosecutors said in a written response to the court on Friday that they had no objection to the request.
But government lawyers are also seeking to admit as evidence some of the lies Santos made during the campaign. Prosecutors say he falsely claimed to have graduated from New York University and Baruch College and worked at financial giants Citigroup and Goldman Sachs before being elected in 2022 to represent Queens and parts of Long Island.
They argue that extensive fabrications about his background are “inseparable” from the criminal charges he faces.
Santos’ attorney declined to comment on prosecutors’ requests.
Last month, federal judge Joanna Seibert rejected Santos requested that three of the 23 charges he faced be dismissed.
he gave up on an unlikely bid Returned to Congress as an independent in April.
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