Judge orders unsealing of Santos’s bond sponsor names Thursday

by Zach Schonfeld and Mychael Schnell - 06/20/23 5:05 PM ET

A federal judge on Tuesday denied Rep. George Santos’s (R-N.Y.) latest attempt to keep sealed the identities of the people who financially backed his criminal bond.

U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert, an appointee of former President Clinton, ordered the names be unsealed at noon EDT Thursday, giving the bond sureties a window to withdraw beforehand.

A coalition of media organizations pushed to make the filings public, but Joe Murray, Santos’s attorney, previously indicated the embattled congressman would rather be detained ahead of trial than allow their identities to be unsealed.

Murray has repeatedly cited a “media frenzy” in attempting to keep the bond sureties names’ private, saying the congressman fears for their health and safety. Murray has also suggested at least one of Santos’s bond sponsors is a relative.

“Defendant may move to modify the conditions of his release, should the Suretors seek to withdraw from serving as suretors,” Seybert wrote in the brief ruling, although her attached opinion remains under seal.

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The order marks the second denial of Santos’s attempt. After a magistrate judge denied his request, Santos appealed to Seybert, who is assigned to oversee the case if it reaches trial.

The Hill reached out to Santos’s attorney for comment. His congressional office told The Hill that it does not comment on personal or campaign-related matters pertaining to the congressman.

Santos — who was elected to Congress in November — has been a target of scrutiny since before he was sworn into the House amid questions about his background and finances. The then-congressman-elect admitted to embellishing parts of his resume in December, but more questions have been raised since.

The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Santos in March to look into whether or not the New York Republican “engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign; failed to properly disclose required information on statements filed with the House; violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection with his role in a firm providing fiduciary services; and/or engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking employment in his congressional office.”

The committee also appears to be looking into the suretors of Santos’s bond; last month, the panel requested information on those individuals. It specifically asked that the congressman identify the individuals who co-signed his bond, inform the committee of any payments made on his behalf to the co-signers as compensation, lay out any exceptions to House rules that the congressman believes applies to the bond guarantors and provide all documents related to the bond, including communications with the co-signers.

In a May 31 letter, Murray asked for a 30-day extension on the request while also noting that he was unable to share the requested information with the panel until it was unsealed by the court.

But if it were to be unsealed — which it was ordered to be Tuesday — he said he would share the information with the committee.

“Please understand that unless or until such time that the Court unseals the identities of the suretors, the surety records, and proceedings, I cannot share that information with this Honorable House Ethics Committee,” Murray told the committee at the time.

“If the Court decides to unseal the identities of the sureties, the surety records and proceedings, I will share that information with the Committee. If, however, the Court upholds the sealing, I will also share that Order with this Committee,” he added.

Santos faces 13 federal charges accusing him of misleading campaign donors, fraudulently receiving unemployment benefits and lying on financial disclosures. Santos pleaded not guilty, and his next court appearance is set for June 30.

A number of lawmakers from both parties have called on Santos to resign, but he has remained adamant that he will continue to serve constituents in New York’s third congressional district. He is also running for reelection in 2024.

Santos faces bipartisan calls to be expelled. Last month, however, the House voted to refer a resolution to expel Santos to the Ethics Committee, punting on the question of whether or not he should be ousted from Congress.

The move, however, was largely redundant because the Ethics panel is already investigating Santos.

Tags Clinton George Santos House Ethics Committee