Santos says he will "fight until the bitter end” over 10 new federal charges
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Rep. George Santos in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 10. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) on Wednesday brushed off the 10 new charges filed against him, saying he is innocent and will "fight until the bitter end."
Why it matters: Santos' new comments indicate that the embattled representative plans to hang on to his seat, despite increasing pressure to leave office.
Catch up quickly: In a superseding indictment in the Eastern District of New York unsealed on Tuesday, Santos was accused of conspiracy, wire fraud, false statement, falsification of records, aggravated identity theft and credit card fraud.
- Those allegations came on top of the 13 charges he received in a federal indictment earlier this year, which included wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and lying to Congress.
- He pleaded not guilty to those charges in May and indicated Wednesday that he will do the same in response to the new complaints when he returns to court on Oct. 27.
- The superseding indictment accused Santos of filing false fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commission to obtain financial support for his campaign and repeatedly charging the credit cards of campaign contributors without authorization.
What they're saying: Santos told reporters in an interview in his office on Wednesday that he "will fight to prove my innocence" and denies "every last bit of charges."
- He said he won't enter a plea deal, adding that he's "strong in my convictions that I can prove my innocence."
The big picture: Santos said the new charges have not changed his intention to seek re-election for his Long Island-based seat.
- The race has attracted a large field of candidates, who see the seat as up for grabs because of Santos' scandals and unpopularity among voters, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.
- The New York representative has faced widespread calls to resign from congressional Democrats and some of his fellow Republicans over the charges and for allegedly fabricating large parts of his resume, background and personal finances.
- Earlier this year, Democrats sought to expel him from the House, but Republicans voted down the resolution.
Go deeper: Former Rep. Tom Suozzi launches comeback bid against George Santos
