Rep. George Santos granted request to move more freely around Washington, D.C., court documents show

A federal judge on Wednesday granted a request from indicted Long Island congressman George Santos to travel more freely around the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area as he awaits trial on his wire fraud and money laundering case.

Santos (R-Nassau/Queens), who pleaded not guilty in May to a 13-count indictment, is free on a $500,000 bond, but had been restricted from traveling beyond the confines of New York and Washington, D.C., and the route between the two places without permission from the court.

Santos’ Great Neck-based attorney, in a letter filed Wednesday to U.S. Magistrate Anne Y. Shields, asked the judge to extend the geographical area by a 30-mile radius in which Santos can “freely move about without providing prior notice” to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the federal Office of Probation and Pretrial Services. 

“In light of the small geographical area of the District of Columbia, there is a frequent need to travel outside the District of Columbia for usual and customary functions of someone who lives and works in the District of Columbia, such as dining, shopping, meetings, events, and even use of the local airports,” Murray wrote. “This has resulted in unnecessary notifications which can easily be remedied by extending the geographical area in which my client can freely move about without providing prior notice, to include a thirty-mile radius around the District of Columbia.”

Shields, in a brief order Wednesday, granted the request. Prosecutors and pretrial services did not object, the order said. 

Reached by telephone Wednesday before the judge ruled, Murray said: “I’m not gonna discuss his personal business; the letter speaks for itself.”

Santos did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Santos is accused of orchestrating a series of schemes while running for Congress, including ripping off political donors, fraudulently receiving unemployment benefits authorized during the COVID-19 pandemic even though he had a job, and lying on his congressional financial disclosure forms.

The Republican, who represents New York's 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of Nassau and Queens, is charged with 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 as part of schemes prosecutors said began in 2020.

The first-term congressman, who has been mired in controversy since it was revealed soon after his election that he lied about his resume, schooling and various aspects of his life, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the top counts if convicted and the potential forfeiture of his assets.

Santos has refused calls to resign from some constituents, Republican members of the Long Island House delegation and leaders of the Nassau Republican Party. GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said he will support another Republican for the seat in 2024.

But Santos has said he is running for reelection.

With Laura Figueroa Hernandez

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.