Former U.S. Rep. George Santos will reportedly plea guilty to a series of fraud charges that led to his expulsion from Congress late last year, a decision that contrasts with his firm denial of any wrongdoing during the probes on his actions.
The case is set to go to trial next month, with Santos accused of a range of financial crimes, including lying to Congress about his wealth, using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses and collecting unemployment benefits while working.
Santos, who has previously pleaded not guilty, requested through his attorneys last Friday for a court date on Monday, The Associated Press reported. It did not specify the reason for the request.
The disgraced congressman had previously floated the idea of a plea deal despite maintaining his innocence, saying in December that such a decision was not "off the table." "I think everybody should be afraid of going to jail. It's not a pretty place and I definitely want to work very hard to avoid that as best as possible," he added.
Santos had vowed to continue involved in politics despite his expulsion, filing to run in a different district to the one he had initially won. However, his campaign failed to report on any fundraising or expenditures by March this year, fueling speculation that he found no appetite for a candidacy.
Then in April he said he would end his campaign to avoid potentially splitting the Republican vote for first-term GOP Representative Nick LaLota, and bolster the eventual Democratic nominee in the 1st congressional district.
"Although Nick and I don't have the same voting record and I remain critical of his abysmal record, I don't want to split the ticket and be responsible for handing the house to Dems. Staying in this race all but guarantees a victory for the Dems in the race," he wrote. In response, LaLota said: "Chat GPT translation: He's taking a plea deal."
As the date of the trial neared, Santos was seeking concessions, including having a partially anonymous jury and potential jurors filling out a written questionnaire with their opinions of him due to the fact that he had already been "found guilty in the court of public opinion." The judge in the case, Joanna Seybert, agreed to keep jurors' identities public but rejected the questionnaire.
Santos is the sixth House member to be expelled from the House of Representatives. Rep. James Traficant was the previous representative removed from office in 2002 over corruption charges. Two of his campaign aides have already pleaded guilty to crimes related to the campaign.
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