10 months ago
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NEW YORK (NewsNation) — A national justice has denied erstwhile U.S. Rep. George Santos' question for imaginable jurors successful his fraud lawsuit to beryllium questioned astir their opinions of him but granted his petition for a partially anonymous jury.
The justice called the questionnaires 1 of the "worst" and astir “inefficient” mechanisms during a pretrial proceeding Tuesday.
NewsNation confirmed that a excavation of 348 jurors volition beryllium questioned, and assemblage enactment is expected to past 1 week. Opening statements are scheduled for Sept. 16.
Santos has pleaded not guilty to assorted fiscal crimes, including lying to Congress astir his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits portion employed and utilizing run contributions to wage for idiosyncratic expenses specified arsenic decorator clothing.
What happened successful Tuesday's hearing?
Santos' petition to question imaginable jurors was among respective issues a justice considered during Tuesday's proceeding successful national tribunal connected Long Island.
His lawyers argued the petition was indispensable owed to extended antagonistic media sum surrounding Santos, who was expelled from Congress in December aft an morals probe recovered “overwhelming evidence” he’d breached the instrumentality and exploited his nationalist presumption for his ain profit.
Santos' lawyers person cited much than 1,500 articles and a "Saturday Night Live" skit. They besides enactment akin questionnaires were utilized successful different high-profile national cases successful New York, including the proceedings of notorious cause kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Prosecutors opposed the request, calling it a hold maneuver and noting the media scrutiny is mostly Santos' ain doing.
Santos’ lawyers besides asked successful their ineligible filing past week for the tribunal to see a partially anonymous jury for the upcoming trial.
Prosecutors said they don’t reason the request.
What's Santos charged with?
Last month, national Judge Joanna Seybert turned down Santos’ petition to disregard 3 of the 23 charges helium faces.
The aggravated individuality theft charges pertain to allegations that Santos utilized run donors’ recognition paper accusation to marque repeated contributions they hadn’t authorized. Prosecutors accidental helium besides tried to fell the existent root of the wealth — and evade run publication limits — by listing the donations arsenic coming from immoderate of his relatives and associates, without their assent.
The theft of nationalist funds complaint relates to the alleged unemployment fraud.
Santos’ lawyers said the complaint improperly combined aggregate alleged transgression schemes and transactions. Courts person said successful different cases that specified operation isn’t allowed for assorted reasons, including the anticipation that jurors could convict connected the complaint portion believing a suspect blameworthy of lone portion of it.
Prosecutors successful Santos’ lawsuit said the theft of nationalist funds complaint against him alleges “a azygous continuing scheme.”
Santos is slated to spell connected proceedings successful Central Islip connected New York’s Long Island.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
