Dec. 11 (UPI) — Former Rep. George Santos — who was expelled from Congress as he faces 23 federal fraud charges — is in talks to strike a plea deal, prosecutors disclosed in a court filing Monday.
“The parties are presently engaged in plea negotiations with the goal of resolving this matter without the need for a trial,” the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York wrote in a filing Monday, ahead of a court status conference scheduled for Tuesday.
“The parties wish to continue those negotiations over the next thirty days and respectfully submit that the ends of justice served by such an excludable delay outweigh the best interests of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial,” prosecutors added.
Santos has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges that include wire fraud, false statements, falsifying records, identity theft and access device fraud as part of a credit card scheme where he allegedly made charges on donors’ credit cards without their authorizations. He is also accused of submitting false campaign reports.
Santos also pleaded not guilty in May to seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making false statements to the House of Representatives.
While the former congressman has called the federal charges a “witch hunt,” the House Ethics Committee disclosed “substantial evidence” last month allegedly showing campaign funds spent on Botox treatments and expensive trips to Atlantic City.
Santos, who was a first-term Republican from New York, was expelled from the House earlier this month in a bipartisan vote of 311 to 114, making him the first lawmaker to be ousted from the House in more than two decades.
Santos is scheduled to go on trial next September, but prosecutors are now asking for a trial date of May or June.
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