Embattled Rep. George Santos remained defiant on Wednesday after facing new federal criminal charges, insisting he would not accept a plea deal and that he will run for reelection next year.
Santos, a New York Republican, claimed that none of the 23 charges against him had any merit, contending that he would fight them all in court and battle calls for his expulsion.
“I’m going to continue to fight this as much as I said in the past. Nothing has changed,” Santos told a small group of reporters in his office on Wednesday morning. “I think I’ve made it clear that I will fight this to prove my innocence. So yeah, I’m pretty much denying every last bit of charges.”
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday unveiled a fresh round of charges against Santos, called a superseding indictment, that brings the total number of counts against him to 23. This indictment is wider in scope and provides new and damaging details about Santos’ alleged efforts to personally profit through his campaign, including allegations that he stole donors’ identities and made fraudulent charges on their credit cards to the tune of thousands of dollars. Federal prosecutors also alleged he embezzled cash from his company and conspired with his former campaign treasurer to falsify donation totals.
Santos on Wednesday insisted he won’t accept any plea deal as he pushed back – sometimes with profanity – against the charges in the indictment.
“The No. 1 question you all ask me is, ‘Are you going to take a plea deal?’ No. The answer is, I will not take a plea deal,” Santos said, adding that he thinks the campaign finances charges are “bullshit.”
When pressed by reporters on the array of charges against him, Santos claimed he didn’t defraud any donors or fake fundraising goals and said he did not embezzle money from the campaign.
On the specific…
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