George Santos fraud case: Judge to rule on admissibility of campaign lies, partial anonymity of jury

Former Long Island congressman George Santos is slated to appear in a Central Islip courtroom on his fraud case Tuesday, when the presiding judge could rule on the prosecution's request to submit some of Santos' campaign lies as evidence and the defense's request for a partially anonymous jury.

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.

He is scheduled to go on trial on Sept. 9, when 850 prospective jurors are expected to report to the courthouse for jury selection.

Santos, who gained enormous notoriety even before he was sworn in as a freshman lawmaker when The New York Times in December 2022 reported on a series of lies that Santos told about his biography and personal and professional lives as he campaigned, could see his past statements be used against him if the government gets its way.

Federal prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert to allow them to present evidence that Santos told a number of falsehoods during his successful congressional campaign, including falsely claiming to have graduated from Baruch College and New York University and to have worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, among other lies.

Prosecutors have said Santos' past statements are "inextricably intertwined" with the charged crimes.

"Santos’s curated (and false) public persona was central to his congressional campaign and related political activities — he portrayed himself as a well-educated and independently wealthy financial professional, while simultaneously claiming that his family boasted an expansive real estate portfolio and operated a family office with $80 million in assets under management," prosecutors wrote in a 71-page memo to the court earlier this month. "At Santos’s trial, the government intends to establish that these projections of wealth were fabricated and that Santos deliberately leveraged them to perpetrate the criminal schemes outlined in the Indictment."

Prosecutors also asked the judge to introduce as evidence various statements made by Santos, including in a CNN interview, as well as in emails, text messages and in-person conversations.

Prosecutors also said Santos' legal team may be withholding evidence it plans to use to impeach government witnesses and asked the judge to compel Santos' attorneys to comply with "meaningful reciprocal discovery."

Prosecutors also want to admit into evidence statements made by alleged Santos co-conspirator Nancy Marks, a Shirley campaign manager for Santos who pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to defraud. Prosecutor have said she and Santos conspired to file false campaign finance reports.

Prosecutors said 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.

"Such a maneuver would result in the disclosure of such evidence for the first time at trial during the cross-examination of government witnesses, such as potential witnesses Santos knows well, including his former staff, his friends, or his family," prosecutors wrote.

Santos' attorneys did not respond to a message seeking comment.

In their own 31-page memo to the judge, Santos' legal team asked for the names of the jurors seated in the case to be confidential and only known to the defendant, lawyers on both sides and the judge "due to the extraordinary level of media attention" in the case and "the significant risks this publicity poses to juror safety, privacy, and impartiality."

Santos' lawyers wrote: "The extensive and largely negative media coverage, combined with the political nature of the case, creates a substantial risk that jurors could face harassment or intimidation if their identities are known, potentially compromising the fairness of the trial. Additionally, the mere risk of public ridicule could influence the individual jurors ability to decide Santos’ case solely on the facts and law as presented in Court."

In court papers, prosecutors said they did not object to the partially anonymous jury, but did object to a defense request for a 137-item jury questionnaire.

John Marzulli, a spokesman for the prosecution, declined to comment.

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.

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.