[UPDATE] George Santos Case: New York Republican Pleads Not Guilty to New Fraud Charges

New York Rep. George Santos has pleaded not guilty to new criminal wire fraud and identity theft charges that were recently added to the Republican's ongoing federal theft and money laundering case.

A federal judge ruled at the embattled lawmaker's brief arraignment hearing that his trial is scheduled for Sept. 2024. After the hearing in U.S. District Court in Long Island, Santos gave no comment to reporters who were waiting outside of the courthouse.

George Santos Pleads Not Guilty

The latest development sees the addition of 10 new felony counts that accuse the New York representative of submitting false campaign reports and charging his campaign donors' credit cards without their permission.

Ahead of the 35-year-old lawmaker's plea, he repeated his promise that he would not resign from office despite the widespread calls from his colleagues to step down. Santos' trial is set to start less than two months before he is expected to face voters in New York's 3rd congressional district, as per CNBC.

The New York Republican has also ignored a bipartisan group of state and federal lawmakers who have been urging him to resign since before he was sworn into Congress in January. Santos' fellow House Republicans from New York on Thursday moved to force a vote on whether or not to kick the fresh lawmaker out of Congress.

However, Republican Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, the newly elected House speaker, said that Santos deserves "due process." His remarks came after saying that the GOP only holds a narrow majority in the chamber.

Santos had previously admitted to lying about his employment and education history during his campaign. He has also since been linked to several other scandals but he has denied committing anything criminal.

Prosecutors accused the New York representative in a superseding indictment earlier this month of wire fraud, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and other crimes. Santos was first indicted in May and has already pleaded not guilty to the first 13 charges filed against him, according to BBC.

A Slew of Legal Challenges

Santos also said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was entitled to due process amid the controversial case. Federal prosecutors had detailed in the superseding indictment widespread alleged fraud that was perpetrated by the Republican as he campaigned for a seat in Congress.

Prosecutors also charged the lawmaker with conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, two counts of making false statements to the FEC, two counts of falsifying records to the FEC, and access device fraud.

Now, Long Island political leaders are preparing for the possibility of a special election to succeed Santos amid his legal challenges. In a statement, Nassau County GOP Chair Joe Cairo said that they would select the best candidate and give 110% effort as they do in every race.

Cairo noted that they may have heard from 20 different prospective candidates to replace the embattled New York Republican. Between Democrats and Republicans, there are roughly 30 candidates with varying degrees of viability who have been eyeing Santos' seat, said Politico.

Tags

New York, Republican, Wire Fraud, Identity theft, Money laundering, Pleads Not Guilty