He’s coming back – to federal court.
Disgraced former Rep. George Santos is set to appear in front of federal judge Joanna Seybert in Central Islip on Tuesday morning for a pre-trial hearing. It’s only the second hearing since he was expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 1; he last appeared in court on Dec. 12.
His demeanor was noticeably different at his Dec. 12 appearance from any previous appearances. When he was first indicted in May of 2023, Santos shamelessly spoke to reporters with his usual entourage from D.C., including his then-communications director Vish Burra. At his Oct. 27 appearance, Santos faced protestors from his district, and dealt with them by blowing kisses and waving.
On Dec. 12, however, the now-expelled former congressman appeared defeated, and declined to answer any questions from media – except that his shoes were Ferragamo-brand.
Santos faces 23 federal charges of campaign finance fraud. He was initially only charged with 13, but an additional 10 were added in October. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Santos’s trial is set to begin Sept. 9. Santos’s attorneys requested last week that prospective jurors fill out a survey to gauge their view of him ahead of jury selection, and the prosecution team vehemently opposed the motion.
Santos was elected to Congress in November of 2022 as part of a red wave on Long Island that saw Republicans claim all four of Long Island’s congressional seats; Garbarino was re-elected to his seat in New York’s 2nd congressional district, D’Esposito defeated Laura Gillen to succeed Kathleen Rice in New York’s 4th congressional district, and LaLota defeated Bridget Fleming to succeed Lee Zeldin in New York’s 1st congressional district.
Santos defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman to succeed outgoing Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) in New York’s 3rd congressional district, which encompasses the towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County as well as a portion of northeast Queens.
However, in December of 2023, the New York Times exposed much of Santos’s claims about himself on the campaign trail as false. His campaign had claimed he attended Baruch College and New York University, but no such education records were found. He claimed to have Jewish heritage, but none was found. He had claimed to work for CitiGroup and Goldman Sachs, but no such employment records were found.
Other claims, including one that his mother worked at the World Trade Center and had survived the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were found to be unverifiable by various media outlets.
He was expelled from the House on Dec. 1.
It was the third attempt to do so; one attempt had been done in May, brought forth by Democrats, and another was brought forth in November by Republicans, including his then-Long Island colleagues Reps. Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park) and Nick LaLota (R-Rocky Point).
However, when an investigation by the House Ethics Committee – which his one-time Long Island colleague Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Sayville) is a member of – found that Santos had likely committed several crimes relating to campaign finance, it was enough to convince other members to expel him.
After he was ousted, a special election was held, and Suozzi won his seat back, defeating Nassau County Legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip (R-Great Neck).
Santos then attempted to primary LaLota for his seat in March, but at the end of the month announced he was running a third party campaign. He ended that campaign in April after raising a whopping $0.
Related Story: No Plea Deal For George Santos Yet, As Trial Appears Set For September
