Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., pictured here in January, is scheduled to be back in court on Friday to face expanded felony charges. Fellow New York Republicans introduced resolution on Thursday to try to oust him from Congress.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Days after helping fellow Republicans choose a new House speaker, Rep. George Santos will be in a federal courthouse on Long Island, N.Y., on Friday.
The scandal-plagued freshman from New York’s 3rd Congressional District faces a second arraignment on a growing list of corruption charges linked to his 2022 campaign. He’s expected to plead not guilty.
Santos, who has acknowledged lying to voters about most aspects of his life before winning office, has denied any criminal wrongdoing and says he’s running for reelection next year.
He was arrested in May and charged with 13 felonies ranging from fraud to embezzlement.
This month, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York expanded the indictment to 23 counts.
“Santos is charged with stealing people’s identities and making charges on his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
According to prosecutors, Santos illegally charged $12,000 to the credit card of a campaign contributor, without that person’s knowledge or authorization, and then transferred “the vast majority of that money into his personal bank account.”
On Oct. 5, Santos’ former treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty to federal charges linked to her work for his campaign. It remains unclear whether she agreed to help the prosecution as part of her plea agreement.
Santos’ hearing is…
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