Rep. George Santos, a liar, has until Thursday at noon to determine whether he will enter jail in order to keep secret the identities of those who helped him post his $500,000 bail.
Santos and his attorney have been battling to keep the identities of the people who paid for his bond in his federal fraud case a secret, but on Tuesday, a judge in the U.S. The District Court for the Eastern District of New York agreed with multiple media sites and mandated that the information be made public.
In a prior court filing, Santos’ attorney, Joseph Murray, stated that the first-term lawmaker would prefer to spend time behind bars and allow the suretors to leave rather than be required to expose their identities.
Judge Joanna Seybert ruled on Tuesday that “all previously sealed documents, including the bond,” must now be made public.
It is also ordered that the aforementioned documents be kept under seal until Thursday, June 22, at 12 p.m., at which point the defendant may petition to change the terms of his release if the sureties choose to cease acting as sureties.
Tuesday’s request for comment from Murray did not receive a prompt response.
The Long Island Republican entered a not guilty plea to charges of wire fraud, money laundering, stealing public funds, and making false statements to Congress on May 10 and was freed on bail; however, his sureties failed to show up in open court to sign his bond.
In federal proceedings, suretors are not required to pay the bail sum up front in order to secure a defendant’s release; nonetheless, they are still responsible for doing so.
The media outlets claimed that Santos shouldn’t be given special treatment, citing First Amendment issues.
In criminal cases, they normally have to appear in person or via a remote stream at a public court.
The secrecy raised questions about whether Santos’ bond was being paid for by those who may have some influence over him as a legislator.
Murray claimed in later court documents that the suretors were family members who had a right to privacy due to the considerable media attention the matter was receiving and the possibility of threats being made against them.
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