George Santos Would Go to Jail to Keep Bond Cosigners Secret

Congressman's attorney says cosigners will be in danger if their identities are revealed
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 6, 2023 1:00 AM CDT
George Santos Would Go to Jail to Keep Bond Cosigners Secret
US Rep. George Santos, second from left, leaves the federal courthouse with his top political aide Vish Burra, left, in Central Islip, NY, Wednesday, May 10, 2023.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

George Santos would apparently rather end up behind bars than allow the world to know who cosigned the $500,000 bond that enabled him to be freed on pretrial release. Three unidentified people secured the bond, and on Monday night, lawyers for Santos filed a motion arguing that records identifying them should be kept sealed by the court, CBS News reports. "There is little doubt that the suretors will suffer some unnecessary form of retaliation if their identities and employment are revealed," the motion reads, hypothesizing they "are likely to suffer great distress, may lose their jobs, and God forbid, may suffer physical injury." The controversial New York congressman would actually rather be jailed than force that fate upon them, the attorneys said, per the AP.

"My client would rather surrender to pretrial detainment than subject these suretors to what will inevitably come," defense attorney Joseph Murray writes in the motion. Murray says Santos and his defense team have already been subjected to harassment and death threats themselves, including a call from someone yelling that they wanted to know who paid bond for the Republican, who is accused of a number of bizarre allegations and is facing charges specifically for allegedly misleading donors, stealing from his political campaign, lying to Congress, and fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits. News outlets and the House Ethics Committee want the bond cosigners' names revealed, but Murray asked the judge to give notice if she decides to do that so the defense team can instead withdraw the cosigners. (More George Santos stories.)

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