Jury in former Rep. George Santos' fraud trial will be anonymous, judge rules

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the jury in the September fraud trial of former Long Island Congressman George Santos will be anonymous and will not be selected using a questionnaire as the defense had requested.

U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert said more than 350 potential jurors are expected to report for duty on Sept. 9, with 12 jurors and six alternates being selected through a traditional individual examination by the attorneys for both sides and herself.

"One of the worst things I’ve come across in my 30-plus years as a judge is a juror questionnaire," Seybert said, calling the process inefficient. "It offends people."

Seybert said questioning a potential juror in person, rather than through the 137-item jury questionnaire the defense had requested, will enable the attorneys to ask probing questions and elicit more "spontaneous and truthful responses." That process also helps both sides select a jury that will work well together, Seybert said.

Opening arguments in the case will begin Sept. 16, and Seybert said she expects the trial to last about four weeks, though she strongly urged the government to streamline its witness list to speed up the case. Prosecutors estimated Tuesday that they will call upward of three dozen witnesses before turning the case over to the defense after three weeks of testimony.

"Four weeks for a trial is a long time," Seybert told the attorneys.

One question prosecutors said they couldn’t answer Tuesday is whether they will call former Santos campaign treasurer Nancy Marks, a Suffolk County GOP stalwart who pleaded guilty to conspiring with Santos to commit wire fraud and other charges last October, to testify. Marks is still awaiting sentencing and has not entered into a cooperation agreement.

Santos defense attorney Joseph Murray, of Queens, said if prosecutors do not call on Marks to testify, the defense would be forced to, but they fear she may plead the Fifth Amendment.

“[That] would be devastating to our defense," Murray said.

Murray said he intends to file a motion to compel immunity for Marks, though the judge indicated she would likely reject such a motion.

The final witness list and discovery in the case is due Aug. 26.

Prosecutors said in a recent filing that they have turned over more than 1.3 million pages of records to Santos' attorneys, while Santos' lawyers have provided five pages of documents since Santos was charged. Santos' lawyers produced approximately 425 pages to the government before he was charged.

Harris said the government is concerned by the lack of response to questions about this issue by the defense.

"If documents come out during trial, we will ask the court to preclude [them]," Harris said.

Murray told the judge it is not his intent to "ambush" the prosecution. He said that because the allegations involve a campaign, there have been "complications" finding "where they store certain materials." He said the defense does not intend to introduce a lot of last-minute materials.

Santos, who represented parts of Nassau County and Queens in the House of Representatives before he was expelled from Congress following a House ethics investigation that found he had engaged in "unlawful conduct," has pleaded not guilty to a 23-count indictment charging him with wire fraud, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission and identity theft.

Wearing a navy blue suit with a light blue tie, Santos declined to comment as he left the courthouse, telling a reporter it would not be appropriate to discuss the case so close to the start of trial. His attorneys also declined to address the more than two dozen members of the media on hand for Tuesday's conference.

Prosecutors have said Santos fraudulently received unemployment benefits authorized during the coronavirus pandemic; lied on his congressional financial disclosure forms; filed fraudulent fundraising reports to get support for his congressional campaign; and stole thousands of dollars from his campaign contributors by charging their credit cards without authorization.

Santos, who is free on a $500,000 unsecured bond, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, if convicted.

Seybert said the trial will be held in the ceremonial courtroom on the second floor of the courthouse, a larger space that allows for more media to attend. The trial will be scheduled for Monday through Thursday each week beginning at 9 a.m. The court will break Oct. 3 to allow jurors to observe Rosh Hashanah. 

Seybert said 800 potential jurors were summoned for jury duty in the case with 98 having already been excused. To date, 348 potential jurors have responded to the summons, and the judge said she expects that number to grow before selection begins.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.