A federal judge has ruled on several pretrial motions in the case of former U.S. Rep. George Santos, who is facing charges of financial crimes, including lying to Congress and misusing campaign contributions.
During a hearing on Tuesday, Judge Joanna Seybert denied Santos’ request to question potential jurors about their opinions of him, calling the proposed questionnaires “one of the worst” and most “inefficient” mechanisms. However, the judge granted Santos’ request for a partially anonymous jury, which will be used to protect the identities of jurors in the case.
Santos’ lawyers had argued that the questionnaires were necessary due to the extensive negative media coverage surrounding Santos, who was expelled from Congress in December after an ethics investigation found evidence of wrongdoing. They cited over 1,500 articles and a “Saturday Night Live” skit as examples of the media scrutiny.
Prosecutors opposed the request, calling it a delay tactic and noting that the media scrutiny is largely Santos’ own doing. They also argued that the questionnaires would be unnecessary and would only serve to delay the trial.
The judge’s ruling came as part of a pretrial hearing in which several motions were considered. Santos’ lawyers had also requested that the court consider a partially anonymous jury, which was granted by the judge. Prosecutors did not oppose the request.
Santos is charged with 23 counts of financial crimes, including aggravated identity theft and theft of public funds. The charges relate to allegations that Santos used campaign donors’ credit card information to make unauthorized contributions and tried to hide the true source of the money. He is also accused of collecting unemployment benefits while employed and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses.
The trial is scheduled to begin on September 16, and jury selection is expected to last one week. A pool of 348 potential jurors will be questioned, and the judge has warned that the trial could be lengthy and complex.
