George Santos Reveals Who Put Up His Bail Minutes Before the Court Was Due to Out Them

Just minutes before a federal court was set to release the names of the co-signers who paid $500,000 to bail out embattled Rep. George Santos (R-NY), the congressman reportedly revealed the names to ABC Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott.

Scott posted on Twitter at 11:47 a.m. ET, “NEW: Congressman George Santos tells me his bond cosigners are two family members: his aunt, Elma Santos Preven & his father Gercino Dos Santos. A judge ordered the names of the cosigners be made public today.”

The court was scheduled to release the names at noon on Thursday, and proceeded to confirm the congressman’s aunt and father did post his bail.

Santos, who has been ridiculed for lying about his background, was indicted on 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and making false statements to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Justice Department said he faces 20 years in prison.

Attorney Joseph Murray requested that the co-signers’ names be kept secret to protect them from the “media frenzy” surrounding the case, and Santos had said he would rather go to jail than reveal the names. Despite the attorney’s efforts, the judge granted The New York Times’ request that the records be unsealed, according to CNBC.

A federal magistrate judge sided with the news outlets but gave Santos time to appeal. His lawyer then asked Seybert if it would be possible to find a compromise, such as disclosing that the suretors were Santos’ family members without identifying them specifically.

But the judge ordered Tuesday evening that “all previously sealed documents, including the Bond, are to be unsealed to the extent that the names of Defendant’s Suretors are to be disclosed.”

At a press conference following his May arraignment, Santos claimed he would not resign his congressional seat, despite both Republicans and Democrats calling for his ouster. Santos called his prosecution a “witch hunt.”