A court will divulge the identity of three people who contributed to George Santos’ $500K bail.
A New York court ordered on Tuesday that the identities of Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., bond guarantors would be made public on Thursday unless the arrested rookie congressman attempts to amend the conditions of his release.
Long Island U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert sided with multiple media sites asking the identities to be made public, ordering that “all previously sealed documents, including the bond, are to be unsealed to the extent that the names of defendant’s suretors are to be disclosed.”
“It is further ordered that the aforementioned documents shall be kept under seal until Thursday, June 22 at 12 p.m., during which time defendant may move to modify the conditions of his release, should the suretors seek to withdraw from serving as suretors,” Seybert said.
In a letter to the court earlier this month, Santos’ attorney, Joseph Murray, said that the congressman would consent to the revelation of a “family” link between the Republican and those who signed his bail. Santos wants to safeguard his family members’ namess while fighting criminal allegations.
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A court will divulge the identity of three people who contributed to George Santos’ $500K bail.
A New York court ordered on Tuesday that the identities of Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., bond guarantors would be made public on Thursday unless the arrested rookie congressman attempts to amend the conditions of his release.
Long Island U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert sided with multiple media sites asking the identities to be made public, ordering that “all previously sealed documents, including the bond, are to be unsealed to the extent that the names of defendant’s suretors are to be disclosed.”
“It is further ordered that the aforementioned documents shall be kept under seal until Thursday, June 22 at 12 p.m., during which time defendant may move to modify the conditions of his release, should the suretors seek to withdraw from serving as suretors,” Seybert said.
In a letter to the court earlier this month, Santos’ attorney, Joseph Murray, said that the congressman would consent to the revelation of a “family” link between the Republican and those who signed his bail. Santos wants to safeguard the names of his family members while fighting criminal allegations.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Shields first ordered the identities to be published but allowed Santos to appeal. Murray informed Shields that Santos would instead go to prison than expose bond cosigners to the threats he has received. In his letter to Seybert, the attorney repeatedly denounced the “media frenzy” that has surrounded the criminal case, claiming that three people queued up to cosign Santos’ bail “grew very fearful and concerned” on May 10, and one of them “changed heart and backed out.”
Murray said in court records that he publicly informed the House Ethics Committee that people who signed his bond were family members and not lobbyists, contributors, or those intending to influence Santos. According to CBS News, the House Ethics Committee is also looking for the identity of anyone who assisted Santos in posting bail and being freed from detention before his trial as the body examines any potential breach of the House Gift Rule.
According to his defense counsel, Santos has also endured “hateful attacks” since his detention. He has encountered people who are “extremely angry, anti-gay, anti-Republican, and all around anti-social.” Earlier this month, Murray told the court that he, Santos, and Santos’ employees had received threatening and abusive calls and texts, including death threats.
