The identities of the three people who signed the bond for Rep. George Santos’ release after he was indicted last month will be released on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert ordered that the names be unsealed at noon, giving the bond sponsors time to withdraw as suretors beforehand.
“The aforementioned documents shall be kept under seal until Thursday June 22 at 12 p.m., during which time defendant may move to modify the conditions of his release, should the suretors seek to withdraw from serving as suretors,” the opinion says, according to CBS.
Santos pleaded not guilty last month to 13 federal criminal charges including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress. He was released on a $500,000 bond and has tried to keep the names of the sponsors under seal.
Several media outlets have filed motions seeking to publicly released the names of the sponsors.
But, in court filings Santos’ attorney, Joseph Murray, said the suretors could “suffer great distress,” including possible job losses and “may suffer physical injury” if their names are released to the public, the Associated Press reported.
“My client would rather surrender to pretrial detainment than subject these suretors to what will inevitably come,” Murray wrote.
