Santos plea to keep ‘family’ secret

Lying Long Island Rep. George Santos filed an appeal Friday seeking to keep sealed the names of the two people who co-signed a $500,000 unsecured bond in his criminal fraud case — days after a New York federal judge ruled their identities should be made public.

In an eight-page filing submitted ahead of a noon deadline, Santos’ lawyer signaled that the two guarantors were family members and it was “very likely” they would withdraw as bond supporters if their names were unveiled.

The attorney, Joseph Murray, argued such a withdrawal could subject Santos to “more onerous conditions of release” or even pretrial detention as his fraud case unfolds.

In the court filing, Murray also rejected speculation that Santos was trying to keep the identities of his guarantors secret because they were lobbyists, political donors or others seeking to exert influence.

“Defendant has essentially publicly revealed that the suretors are family members,” the filing states.