Rep. George Santos is pulling out all the stops in a desperate attempt to keep the identities of his bail signatories—who ponied up $500,000 to spring him from jail—a secret. His lawyer even said that Santos would rather go back to jail than allow the names to become public, because the “media frenzy” surrounding his case would put them in danger, according to The Hill. “If this Court is so inclined to unseal the sureties, we truly fear for their health, safety and well being,” Santos’s attorney, Joseph Murray, wrote in a new court filing. “In fact, if the suretors are required to be identified, we respectfully request that the Court allow the suretors notice before the court releases their information so that they can withdraw as cosignors on the bond and Rep. Santos and I will appear before Your Honor forthwith,” Murray added. “My client would rather surrender to pretrial detainment than subject these suretors to what will inevitably come.” A consortium of media outlets has filed to unseal the records, arguing there is a public interest in knowing who committed the large sums in support of a sitting U.S. congressperson.
