George Santos set to plead guilty in federal court, avoid trial

Former U.S. Rep. George Santos, whose career in Congress was derailed after revelations that he’d fabricated much of his life story, is expected to plead guilty to federal fraud charges on Monday, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

The former New York Republican, who has steadfastly denied wrongdoing since he was first indicted last year for campaign finance violations, was set to go on trial on 23 felony charges on Sept. 9.

Santos has previously pleaded not guilty and called the case against him a “witch hunt.” Santos didn’t return texts and telephone calls on Saturday. His lawyers didn’t respond to emails and telephone messages.

A guilty plea would spare the former lawmaker from a trial that was expected to last at least a month and may win him some leniency from the court at sentencing. Federal judges usually hand reduced sentences to defendants who accept responsibility rather than go to trial.

U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert, in Central Islip, New York, who is presiding over the case, on Friday scheduled an in-person hearing for Monday, Aug. 19, at the request of both prosecutors and defense lawyers.

Prosecutors in the office of Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace first charged Santos last year with stealing public funds and lying on federal disclosure forms, and he was charged with fraud and money laundering. They filed a revised indictment in October, adding 10 more charges accusing Santos of making false statements to the Federal Election Commission and running up unauthorized expenses on his campaign contributors’ credit cards.

He was expelled from Congress in December after the House Committee of Ethics found “substantial evidence” he broke the law.