Santos Pleas Guilty!

George Santos is a weird dude.

Former New York lawmaker George Santos will plead guilty in federal court for his campaign finance fraud. He is facing at least five years in federal time out.

Santos was the first openly gay Republican elected to the House of Representatives.

A local Long Island newspaper told The Washington Post that Santos lied about his past and left a trail of aggrieved allies from New York all the way to Brazil. Some embarrassing pictures of Santos appearing in drag came forward. The former lawmaker stole from a veteran and his service dog. Lastly, Santos and his partner were improperly using campaign funds to build a lavish lifestyle.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy forced him to step down from his committee assignments once the news came forth.

Santos was defiant and vowed to stay in Congress. He later changed his mind and decided to retire. The House of Representatives didn't give him the opportunity to fulfill his term.

Santos was expelled from Congress in October 2023. Former lawmaker Tom Suozzi ended up winning back the seat. Suozzi as well as Santos were funded by AIPAC and have staunchly supported Israel. 

Suozzi is expected to win the seat for a full term.

According to The New York Times, the former lawmaker will take a plea deal to avoid facing trial on 23 felony charges. If convicted at trial Santos could face significant time behind bars, which he may be able to reduce with a deal.

However, two attorneys representing witnesses in the trial were informed earlier this week that Santos intends to plead guilty on Monday. Santos is expected to give a statement to a New York court admitting guilt to the charges, but the exact nature of his guilty plea and sentence is not known.

Santos is hoping for former president Donald J. Trump pardons him if he wins.

The deal will need to be accepted by U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert. Already the judge has scheduled an in-person hearing for this Monday and delayed a few deadlines in the case.

The disgraced Republican is accused of being involved in a variety of criminal schemes, including using campaign credit cards without authorization, falsely inflation campaign finance reports, fraudulently cashing in on unemployment benefits, lying on his financial disclosures, and deceiving campaign donors.

Last May, Santos was indicted on 13 charges before 10 other counts were added in October. Jury selection for the trial was set to begin on September 9th.

The reported plea deal comes two of Santos’ aides admitted guilt last year.

Today is also the day Sen. Bob Menendez (I-NJ) resigns from the U.S. Senate.