George Santos set for federal fraud trial appearance today. Here's the latest on a possible plea deal.
NEW YORK -- Disgraced former Congressman George Santos is expected to plead guilty Monday in federal court on Long Island to some of the 23 counts against him in his fraud case.
The counts include wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission and identity theft.
"Certainly, it's not in the public's benefit to go through that whole charade," former Long Island Republican Rep. Peter King said. "To me, the sooner he's gone, the better."
Plea deal penalty likely to be less severe, attorney says
Following his election in 2022, Santos was accused of a litany of lies including graduating from Baruch College and New York University, being a descendant of Holocaust survivors and working at Goldman Sachs.
The night before Congress voted to expel him last December, CBS News New York asked "Why are you still in office?" and Santos replied, "These are allegations that I am not at this time prepared or able to have those discussions."
- Read more: Former Rep. George Santos says he's leaving the Republican Party, will run as an independent
Over the weekend by phone, Santos told CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer he'll be in court Monday but when she asked if he's taking a plea deal, he said he couldn't talk about it.
David Schwartz is a New York-based criminal defense attorney.
"One thing for certain, he will be getting a lot less of a harsh sentence by pleading guilty right now, by accepting responsibility and being remorseful, than he would have if he went to trial," Schwartz said.
If convicted on all counts, according to sentencing guidelines, Santos would have faced up to 20 years behind bars. However, the judge does not have to rely on that guidance. In fact, he doesn't even need to accept the plea deal, although CBS News New York was told by legal experts that is rare.
Citizen group concerned about plea deal
Jodi Kass Finkel led the group Concerned Citizens of NY-03 to Washington to oust Santos from his seat. The group's name refers to the congressional district Santos represented -- the third.
"He shouldn't get a plea deal," Finkel said.
On Sunday, Finkel's group wrote prosecutors saying it "demands a full trial to reveal the extent of Mr. Santos's crimes against N.Y.-03. Indeed, the public deserves to know how a travesty of this magnitude could have happened at the highest level of government."