Former Rep. George Santos, the expelled former member of Congress facing a litany of federal criminal charges, is actively participating in plea negotiations, prosecutors wrote in a filing Monday.
“The parties are presently engaged in plea negotiations with the goal of resolving this matter without the need for a trial,” prosecutors wrote in a filing that details the agenda for a status conference on Tuesday. They said “the parties wish to continue those negotiations” over the next 30 days.
For months since the indictment was handed down, Santos has said he would not strike a plea agreement. But on Sunday, in an interview with CBS New York, he said a plea deal could be an option.
The New York Republican was kicked out of office in a 311-114 vote on Dec. 1, making him only the sixth House member in history to be booted from the chamber. The list of transgressions had hit a critical mass by that point, following a detailed House Ethics Committee report that found Santos spent thousands of campaign dollars at Ferragamo and Atlantic City resorts and on Botox treatments.
That report, months in the making, came after Santos was indicted on 23 federal criminal counts, including engaging in a fraudulent political contribution solicitation scheme and an unemployment insurance fraud scheme and filing false financial disclosures with the House.
Santos is set to go to trial on Sept. 9, but in the most recent filing, prosecutors are asking for a trial date in May or June.
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