New York Congressman George Santos said Thursday that he is not yet interested in reaching a plea deal in relation to his case. Santos was charged with various federal crimes related to his political campaign finances and his public statements before the House of Representatives. This was reported by the news portal The Hill.
In an interview on NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live” show, Santos said that “at this point, the answer is no,” when asked if he would consider a plea deal that could require him to leave the House of Representatives.
“Look, I don’t know. I am not making any claims at this time. At this time, the answer is no. But you never know. Life is like that… You never know what life throws at you, you know?” Santos said.
According to information from The Hill, Santos made similar statements last week, when he said he was not looking to reach a plea deal. “I’m fighting to prove my innocence, and I think that’s what everyone should do.”
Santos was indicted on 13 counts earlier this year on charges that he misled donors and misrepresented their finances to the public and government agencies.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
“Look, I think anybody would be scared to go to prison, right?” he said when Abrams asked if he was scared, adding, “But the reality is right now, I’m confident that I won’t be.”
Santos also said he plans to challenge “everything,” from the federal charges to the House ethics investigation. Instead, he said he would like to focus less on his past and more on his “civic duty.”
“It is what it is, you just take it day by day at this point,” Santos told Abrams. “I am human, I have made mistakes, I move forward. I have apologized, I have made those apologies, as sincere as I could.”
“At this point, if I continue to put effort into that, then I will be failing in my civic duty to serve the community, which is what I am focusing all my attention on,” he concluded.
Keep reading:
– Donation collector for George Santos was charged with impersonation
– Democrats introduce resolution to censure George Santos and criticized Kevin McCarthy for not expelling him from Congress
– Congressman George Santos does not rule out running again in the next elections, despite the accusations against him