Former GOP Representative George "Anthony Devolder Zabrovsky Kitara Ravache Jingleheimer Schmidt" Santos, who was expelled from Congress, appeared in court on Long Island on Tuesday for a hearing ahead of his corruption trial next month.
Santos is accused of a range of crimes including lying to Congress about his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits while actually working, and using campaign contributions to pay for such personal items as fancy designer clothes and extravagant trips.
Last month, federal Judge Joanna Seybert turned down Santos’ request to dismiss three of the 23 charges he faces.
The judge also denied Santos's motion for potential jurors in his fraud case to be questioned about their opinions of him but granted his request for a partially anonymous jury after calling the questionnaires one of the “worst” and most “inefficient” mechanisms during the pretrial hearing.
His lawyers argued the request was "necessary" due to "extensive negative media coverage" surrounding Santos, who was expelled from Congress in December 2023 after an ethics investigation found “overwhelming evidence” he’d broken the law and exploited his public position for his own profit.
Santos's lawyers cited over 1,500 articles and a “Saturday Night Live” skit as evidence of a perceived media bias. They also noted similar questionnaires were used in other high-profile federal cases in New York, including the trial of notorious drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
OK, Kitara, you're just not that important.
One charge of aggravated identity theft charges stems from allegations that Santos obtained and then used campaign donors' credit card information to make repeated contributions they hadn't consented to.
Santos is slated to go on trial in Central Islip, NY, next month.