George Santos Faces Hard Deadline on Naming Bail Backers

The identities of the three people who secured a $500,000 bond for Representative George Santos' criminal charges will be revealed this week, according to a court filing Tuesday.

Santos, whose freshman year on Capitol Hill has been plagued by accusations of fraud and fabrications about his resume, pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of federal criminal charges in May related to wire fraud, money laundering and lying to the House of Representatives. The Republican lawmaker from Long Island was released on a bail bond after facing arraignment when three unidentified co-signers emerged, whose names remain under a sealed document.

U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert wrote in a court order Tuesday that the bond will be unsealed at 12 p.m. Thursday, "during which time Defendant may move to modify the conditions of his release, should the [sureties] seek to withdraw from serving as [sureties]," according to court documents.

Newsweek has reached out to Santos' attorney, Joseph Murray, via email for comment.

Several media outlets previously requested that the court release the bond sureties' names, arguing that it was the public's right to know who is backing the congressman. U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Shields sided with news organizations earlier this month but gave Santos' legal team time to appeal the decision.

In a letter to Shields three days later, Murray argued that releasing the co-signers' names to the public could endanger the three people involved, writing to Shields earlier this month that they could "suffer great distress, may lose their jobs, and God forbid, may suffer physical injury."

"In fact, if the [sureties] are required to be identified, we respectfully request that the Court allow the [sureties] notice before the court releases their information so that they can withdraw as co-signers on the bond and Rep. Santos and I will appear before Your Honor forthwith," Murray wrote in the letter, which is dated June 9.

Murray added at the time that Santos "would rather surrender to pretrial detainment than subject these [sureties] to what will inevitably come."

Santos' bond is unsecured, meaning that the co-signers are not required to pay the $500,000 bail unless he does not comply with the conditions of his release. The lawmaker's traveling is restricted to only between New York and Washington, D.C., unless otherwise permitted by a judge.

In total, federal prosecutors are charging Santos with 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. He has argued that the investigation is a "witch hunt" and told reporters last month that he's looking forward to "clearing my name" in court.

Santos first came under scrutiny shortly after being elected in the 2022 midterms, when a report from The New York Times accused the lawmaker of lying about much of his resume. The Republican later admitted to embellishing his background, including details about his educational and employment history.

Despite the scandal, Santos has maintained that he has committed no criminal wrongdoing and has dismissed calls from both sides of the aisle for him to resign. He has also announced that he will seek reelection in 2024.