Indicted Congressman George Santos was bailed out by his father and aunt, who secured the $500,000 bond in his federal fraud case, according to unsealed court records.
The Long Island Republican on Thursday lost his battle to keep his suretors secret when the federal judge assigned to his case unsealed all the documents related to his bond — and Santos’ claims through his lawyer that he’d rather go to jail to protect their identities turned out to be the latest blast of hot air from the first-term congressman who lied about his education, religion, family history, professional experience and property ownership during his 2022 campaign.
“It is disingenuous for Defendant to maintain that the self-characterized media frenzy, or the purported vitriolic reactions which Defendant encountered surrounding his Indictment, risk inhibiting the suretors’ ability to fulfill their supervisory role,” Judge Joanna Seybert said in her order to unseal the names, which was made public at noon.
“Given the facts and circumstances of this case, disclosure of the family-member Suretors’ identities is necessary to quell the speculations surrounding the granting of defendant’s release bond, thereby outweighing the speculative privacy concerns raised by Defendant.”
Santos was released on bond on May 10 after pleading not guilty to wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress. But his suretors never appeared in open court to sign his bond, sparking speculation over whether any lobbyists or murky financiers may have bailed him out to curry his favor.
Santos’ lawyer, Joseph Murray, said in court filings that one of the initial three suretors Santos lined up had a change of heart after news of his indictment broke before it was unsealed.
Federal Magistrate Judge Anne Shields ordered Santos released before his suretors co-signed on his bond — a break from judicial norms — and Murray later said in court filings that he made…
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