We begin with the right now legal headache. George Santos is in federal custody. He will stand before
a judge in the next hour. The government this morning unsealing a 13-count indictment,
7 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, two counts of making false statements to
the house of representatives and one count of theft of public funds. Among the accusations,
stealing pan desmic unemployment money. And using campaign donations to buy luxury designer
clothes and pay his personal credit card bills. Brynn Gingras joins us. What's next?
>> Reporter: Listen, the U.S. Attorney here in the ooempb district saying Santos used his dishonesty
and deception to ascend the halls of congress. You laid out the 13 counts in this indictment.
[12:02:06 PM]
this indictment. His arraignment is expected some time this afternoon. But stunning detail goes into
these allegations. Voumpbding the 2020 campaign for the congressional seat, which he did not win.
Then the one he did win in 2022. This indictment details how George Santos allegedly operated a
company and used a consultant to essentially get people who are supporting him to give him muffin.
That would go into this account, which would go into his personal account, and he would buy
clothes, paid a car payment, paid off some loan. There's also allegations that he while having a
salary at an invest the firm in Florida making $120,000 a year, he was applying for unemployment
benefits, getting monthly payments from the state the of New York, allegedly, totaling about
$24,000. Then there are also charges related to the fact that he lied on financial disclosures to
the house of representatives at tiesms inflating his salary, others bringing it down lower.
[12:03:06 PM]
others bringing it down lower. So there's a number of stunning allegations. He's going to
go in front of a judge sometime this afternoon on these charges. It's unclear if we were actually
here from him. He turned himself into the FBI this morning. Thens was brought here to
the courthouse. We have not seen him. We are fully expecting him to appear on those front
steps. So we'll be on the lookout for that. >> Brynn Gingras, remarkable day, a sitting
member of congress indicted on these charges. Thank you for that. Keep us posted. With me in
studio to share their insights is Evan Perez, Paul Holtz and let's go through
the 13 counts. You want to read from one of the counts. This is a wire fraud count
that he impb deuced members to contribute funds to company number one under the false
pretenses it would be used to support his candidacy and spending thousands of
dollars on personal items like credit card payments. This has been underway for months.
[12:04:07 PM]
months. A host of lies in questionable activities. How did this come about weren't.
>> It may seem like it's bye-bye a long time because this congressman has been the subject
of so many stories, so many media stories focusing on the various lies he's told. There's many. But
this is fairly quick for the justice department certainly for the FBI. I'm told this is still an
investigation that's ongoing. So there may still be more. Every single one of these entries that he
made could be a potential crime that they could charge. And what you see there is just the fact
that he received this money, said that it was going to buying television ads and instead,
according to the justice department, he he was using it to pay personal bills,
he was using it to buy luxury goods, that is a crime. So they are going to make every one
of those a possible charge. And what this means is that it's going to be a lot of
pressure for the congressman to find a way to cut a deal. They are not done with him yet.
[12:05:08 PM]
They are not done with him yet. These industries
are just the beginning. >> You work as a prosecutor,
among the things they charged him with, this one will sink in with people at home,
here's a candidate for congress at the time. For the period of March 22nd of 2020, and 2021,
based on the applications to the state department of labor, the defendant received approximately
$24,744 in unemployment benefits. So he was being paid a salary of $120,000 a year. In the middle of
the pandemic which the country is stressed, when New York is being hit harder than many parts of
the country, he applies for unemployment funds. S. >> The speed of this indicates how easy an
investigation it's been up until this point. It's size to follow the money
[12:06:14 PM]
It's size to follow the money and the paper trail and it's in multiple areas where he
committed this fraud. It's going tb a strong case. There maybe more they uncover on hum,
but he's really going to be a lock in. He's not going to have any ability to fight these charges
because they are so different. He doesn't have a single theme like I misunderstood the unemployment
benefits. I didn't realize I couldn't raise money falsely from my campaign. It's so diverse
and locked in. Very tough situation for him. >> And yet even though he's an embarrassment,
there are few Republican who is will stand with George Santos right now. The speaker of the house
who needed his vote says everybody, please be patient. Give George Santos his day in court.
>> You have your day in court and go through it just like when another member inside the house.
He won't serve on the committee. He will go through his time in
[12:07:16 PM]
He will go through his time in trial. >> Walk us through that. You know the
speaker well. He's not orphan a committee,
therefore, this is not a big of a deal. >> Shame and embarrassment is not a big
quantity up on capitol hill these days. This used to be the kind of thing that folks would
go running out the door or be pushed out the door pretty quickly. But you nailed it. They
need his vote. They have this narrow majority. If you remember their debt limit plan with the bare
minimum number of votes, they are probably going to stick with them, even though that indictment,
they didn't know about the indictment yesterday. The charge is pretty embarrassing really. You
think here's a guy on top of everything else was stealing unemployment benefits and also
this weird reporting and overreporting his income, George Santos had become sort of
a figure on capitol hill where it was almost a joke with him. I don't think it's so funny
[12:08:21 PM]
I don't think it's so funny anymore to the Republicans.
>> To that point, let's stay on the politics. The speaker, to your point,
we want to let them read the indictment. Let me see it. He say he's innocent until proven
guilty. The question is this is shameful, other members say, sorry, got to go now.
>> Would it be better if he resigned? >> Absolutely. It's a distraction. It's
a punch line for a lot of commentary regarding the Republican party that we don't need.
>> If the charges are true, then he should not be a member.
>> I hope he resigns. I want to concentrate on things like border,
China and debt. He's a complete embarrassment. >> When you hear from other members of that,
do they -- do they realize I'm going to lose more than one instead losing a handful or more?
[12:09:22 PM]
handful or more? >> I think the pressure could mount as
these charges get aired out more. The Republicans are in a tough spot. They are at risk of tanking
the economy if the debt limit doesn't get raised. I don't think they want to bear this extra burden.
But they might. He really does need that vote. >> So first court appearance today. How
long does this take to play out? >> It could take several months.
It depends oven that. With this congressman, the FBI is going to keep investigating. So
we may yet see additional charges come. So that will increase pressure for him to cut
a deal. And perhaps one way is for him to resign and figure out a way to reduce that.
>> I will say that members of the past, he might need the