George Santos Seeks Anonymous Jury For Federal Trial

The Associated Press reports:

Former US Rep. George Santos is requesting a partially anonymous jury while federal prosecutors are pushing to admit as evidence some of his past campaign lies as the disgraced New York Republican’s September fraud trial nears.

Santos’ lawyers argued in court filings that individual jurors’ identities should only be known by the judge, the two sides and their attorneys due to the extraordinary level of media attention around the case and their client.

“Additionally, the mere risk of public ridicule could influence the individual jurors’ ability to decide Santos’ case solely on the facts and law as presented in Court.”

New York City’s ABC affiliate reports:

While the lies about his biography in and of themselves are not part of the criminal charges Santos faces – which include lying to Congress about his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits while actually working and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses – prosecutors said Santos’ falsification of his background and financial profile are “intrinsic to the charged crimes.”

At trial, currently set for September 9, prosecutors want to tell the jury Santos told a host of lies, including falsely claiming to have graduated from Baruch College; falsely claiming to have graduated from New York University; falsely claiming to have been employed at Citigroup; falsely claiming to have been employed at Goldman Sachs. They said it would “establish the defendant’s state of mind in connection with the charged crimes.”

The trial is scheduled to begin on September 9.

George Santos’s lawyers are asking for a jury questionnaire and partially anonymous jury in his trial.

They’re citing Bowen Yang’s SNL impression and a number of media articles, including some from NYT. pic.twitter.com/jRNxounitO

— Michael Gold (@migold) August 7, 2024

DOJ: “His efforts to analogize himself to figures like OJ Simpson, Jack Kevorkian, and “El Chapo” …strain credulity. Currently, Santos was a member of the (Congress) for less than one year and was largely unknown to the public before his election” https://t.co/479dZPfLKb

— Seamus Hughes (@SeamusHughes) August 9, 2024

Former Congressman George Santos revives drag queen persona Kitara Ravache for Cameo app. pic.twitter.com/MhNryfCmSU

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) May 1, 2024

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