US congressman pleads not guilty to charges he stole from donors

A scandal-plagued US congressman pleaded not guilty Friday to the latest charges against him, including stealing donors' identities and running up fraudulent charges on their credit cards, prosecutors said.

George Santos appeared in court one day after a fellow New York Republican congressman filed a bill seeking to expel him from Congress.

"We must remove this conman from the People's House," Anthony D'Esposito said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Two-thirds of House members -- made up of 222 Republicans and 212 Democrats -- must vote in favor of the bill for Santos to be pushed out.

Santos pleaded not guilty Friday to 10 counts including identity theft and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

He had already pleaded not guilty in May to seven counts of wire fraud, three of money laundering, one of theft of public funds and two of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.

"Santos is charged with stealing people's identities and making charges on his own donors' credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign," Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said when the 10 charges were announced.

"Santos falsely inflated the campaign's reported receipts with non-existent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen," Peace said.

Santos has already admitted fabricating much of his biography, including his real name, his schooling and his employment history, when he ran last year for a House seat representing parts of Long Island, New York.

According to the initial indictment, Santos defrauded donors during his successful November 2022 election, transferring money into his own account and using it to pay off personal debts and buy designer clothing.

Santos is also accused of collecting unemployment benefits that he was not entitled to during the coronavirus pandemic, before his election to Congress.

Santos has refused calls from constituents, Democrats and his fellow Republicans to resign.