WEBVTT - Episode 3: The Plea 0:00:15.356 --> 0:00:15.836 Pushkin. 0:00:22.676 --> 0:00:26.916 New legal developments involving austed Republican Congressman George Santos. 0:00:27.076 --> 0:00:29.636 Sources say there's a possible plea deal in the corruption 0:00:29.716 --> 0:00:31.636 case that drove him from office. 0:00:31.716 --> 0:00:35.636 His trial was said to begin September ninth. Why plead 0:00:35.636 --> 0:00:36.636 guilty now? 0:00:38.636 --> 0:00:42.196 So the rumors are true. On Monday, August nineteenth, George 0:00:42.196 --> 0:00:46.356 Santos pled guilty in federal court. When I heard the news, 0:00:46.796 --> 0:00:49.196 I made my way to New York and I was 0:00:49.236 --> 0:00:53.156 there in the courtroom just a few rows behind George 0:00:53.196 --> 0:00:58.076 Santos for all of it. I called Jake right after 0:00:58.116 --> 0:01:01.356 the hearing as I was driving away from the courthouse. 0:01:06.636 --> 0:01:11.796 Amy, Hello, heyne I can hear you. 0:01:11.836 --> 0:01:14.796 I'm walking the dog in the park, but I have 0:01:14.876 --> 0:01:17.516 so many questions for you as soon as my dog Milo. 0:01:20.036 --> 0:01:20.756 Are you home now? 0:01:21.596 --> 0:01:22.676 No, I'm dropping that. 0:01:22.956 --> 0:01:29.956 Oh my gosh. Wow. Okay, what a day. Yeah, So 0:01:30.116 --> 0:01:30.716 walk me through. 0:01:31.516 --> 0:01:37.196 So as expected, Santa Flood guilty specifically to two counts, 0:01:37.356 --> 0:01:40.956 Count two and count six. I think one of those 0:01:41.076 --> 0:01:44.956 is wirefraud and one of those is aggravated identity theft. 0:01:45.076 --> 0:01:47.596 But if I'm just said correctly, he basically admitted that 0:01:48.716 --> 0:01:51.596 he did everything in the indictment, So like he pled 0:01:51.596 --> 0:01:54.356 to these two charges, but he did own up to 0:01:55.436 --> 0:01:57.916 all of the allegations against him by the federal government 0:01:57.916 --> 0:01:59.436 as part of this plea agreement. 0:02:01.276 --> 0:02:03.476 Huh. How many counts were their total? 0:02:04.276 --> 0:02:04.996 Twenty three? 0:02:06.476 --> 0:02:10.156 Wow? Does that mean that he and he like fared 0:02:10.196 --> 0:02:10.676 well on this? 0:02:10.796 --> 0:02:15.716 I mean, well, no, what didn't happen today was sentencings, 0:02:15.956 --> 0:02:22.116 so that was tentatively scheduled for February, so we won't know, 0:02:22.276 --> 0:02:26.396 but the range that he's looking at is minimum of two. 0:02:26.236 --> 0:02:30.076 Years in prison and a maximum of twenty two years. 0:02:30.556 --> 0:02:32.636 Talk me through like showing up at the courthouse and 0:02:32.676 --> 0:02:33.596 what the scene was like. 0:02:34.356 --> 0:02:38.276 Yeah, so I got to the courthouse in Central icelip 0:02:38.316 --> 0:02:41.396 on the lawn and it was a zoo tent after 0:02:41.476 --> 0:02:44.916 tent after tent of media set up. People had been 0:02:44.956 --> 0:02:48.436 camped out there probably all day, just trying to get 0:02:49.116 --> 0:02:51.236 shots to stand just walking in and out of the court. 0:02:51.596 --> 0:02:52.516 It's pretty crazy. 0:02:53.076 --> 0:02:56.116 But there's an image that I'm looking at now. I'm like, 0:02:56.156 --> 0:02:59.196 if you just scream of George Santas, I was trying 0:02:59.196 --> 0:03:02.156 to like see what you might have seen. He's dressed 0:03:02.196 --> 0:03:06.036 in this like men in black black suit with these 0:03:06.076 --> 0:03:10.516 like gold frame sunglasses. But he's got like a Star 0:03:10.636 --> 0:03:14.516 of David on his lapel. It's a little hard to see, 0:03:14.516 --> 0:03:17.236 but it's clearly a Star David. And I'm like, this 0:03:17.396 --> 0:03:21.596 is unbelievable. Like, dude is walking into the courthouse in 0:03:21.756 --> 0:03:25.716 his moment of reckoning and he's still got he's still 0:03:25.836 --> 0:03:28.716 rocking the Star of David, like he is holding on 0:03:28.756 --> 0:03:31.756 to that claim of Jewish heritage. Yeah. 0:03:31.796 --> 0:03:34.796 Wow, I couldn't see that from where I was. So 0:03:34.956 --> 0:03:38.996 I was sitting in the courthouse three rows behind him. 0:03:39.636 --> 0:03:43.356 It's a huge building, like it's a it's a massive 0:03:43.636 --> 0:03:48.036 federal facility, but the courtroom itself was actually quite small. 0:03:48.116 --> 0:03:51.316 It was just four rows of pews on each side, 0:03:51.916 --> 0:03:55.516 and two of those roads were basically filled up by 0:03:55.756 --> 0:03:58.796 lawyers for the prosecution. Of course, there's no jury, right 0:03:58.876 --> 0:04:02.476 because this is you know, and now this ultimately needs 0:04:02.516 --> 0:04:03.996 is this isn't going to go to trial. 0:04:04.876 --> 0:04:09.396 Okay, But so when you're so when you're in the courtroom, 0:04:09.796 --> 0:04:11.876 are you there before he shows up or was he 0:04:11.916 --> 0:04:13.116 already there when you walked in? 0:04:13.716 --> 0:04:18.396 Yeah, so when I'm in the courtroom, he is not 0:04:18.636 --> 0:04:21.036 there yet, and then he's just kind of sitting there 0:04:21.036 --> 0:04:24.196 and it's very much like a library church, kind of 0:04:24.236 --> 0:04:29.316 like atmosphere, Like everyone's like whispering and looking around. And 0:04:29.356 --> 0:04:34.676 then the prosecutors entered, and actually there's some family members 0:04:34.676 --> 0:04:36.876 of the lead prosecutor were seated behind me, so I 0:04:37.316 --> 0:04:38.836 talk to them a little bit. I mean, just like 0:04:39.556 --> 0:04:42.596 you don't no one has cell phones, no one has computers. 0:04:42.636 --> 0:04:44.196 I don't think that you would even even let you 0:04:44.236 --> 0:04:46.676 bring an Apple Watch in, And so everybody is kind 0:04:46.676 --> 0:04:49.476 of forced to talk to each other. And so for 0:04:49.516 --> 0:04:52.076 a while, people just kind of sat there milling about. 0:04:52.356 --> 0:04:53.676 I want you to tell them at the moment that 0:04:53.716 --> 0:04:56.356 he walks into the courtroom, Yeah. 0:04:56.036 --> 0:04:58.716 So everyone is, like I said, kind of so everyone 0:04:58.796 --> 0:05:03.236 is kind of feeded quietly, anxiously wondering what's gonna happen, 0:05:04.196 --> 0:05:06.276 when things are going to actually get going, if this 0:05:06.436 --> 0:05:10.316 is actually going to happen today, we're expected thing. And 0:05:10.356 --> 0:05:12.756 then I heard from one of the reporters sitting next 0:05:12.796 --> 0:05:14.996 to me. He had actually gone out to try and 0:05:15.116 --> 0:05:18.196 go to the bathroom before things would start, and he 0:05:18.236 --> 0:05:21.196 came back and told me he's here, Like he came 0:05:21.236 --> 0:05:23.836 face to face with Santos on his way to the bathroom. 0:05:23.956 --> 0:05:26.916 And I was just like, WHOA, Okay, this is really happening. 0:05:26.996 --> 0:05:29.796 You know, half of the morning I thought maybe he 0:05:29.836 --> 0:05:32.116 wouldn't show up, but then it was, it was real. 0:05:32.196 --> 0:05:37.956 He was there, and so, you know, unceremoniously the doors 0:05:38.076 --> 0:05:41.356 open and Santos comes through with his legal teams in 0:05:41.396 --> 0:05:46.356 his black and gray suit. He didn't looked like overly 0:05:46.436 --> 0:05:49.916 distressed or anything, but there was like a tenseness to 0:05:49.996 --> 0:05:51.996 his body. But the moment that he walked in, I 0:05:52.076 --> 0:05:57.036 was sort of just reachless because there's so much anticipation, 0:05:57.156 --> 0:05:59.796 in so much build up to this moment, and then 0:05:59.956 --> 0:06:00.516 there he was. 0:06:01.596 --> 0:06:03.356 When he and when he walked down the aisle, did 0:06:03.396 --> 0:06:05.076 you get a glimpse of his face? Did he look 0:06:05.196 --> 0:06:06.956 like solemn or did he look like. 0:06:09.236 --> 0:06:09.556 Easy? 0:06:10.476 --> 0:06:13.396 You could feel, at least what I've said, so you 0:06:13.396 --> 0:06:16.916 could feel kind of all the anxiety and feeling and 0:06:16.996 --> 0:06:20.236 anticipation that was like locked into his body as he 0:06:20.356 --> 0:06:21.516 waited for this to start. 0:06:22.636 --> 0:06:24.876 Is it one of these things where the judge was 0:06:24.916 --> 0:06:28.396 reading out the charges and asking him how do you plead? 0:06:29.316 --> 0:06:32.236 It started very matter of factly with the judge saying, 0:06:32.676 --> 0:06:36.156 you understand that you are going to be waiving your 0:06:36.276 --> 0:06:39.356 right to a trial. If you do enter into this 0:06:39.436 --> 0:06:41.956 guilty police today and then she started kind of recapping 0:06:42.076 --> 0:06:45.836 what that guilty pleae would before. But then it was 0:06:45.916 --> 0:06:48.676 kind of astounding just to hear the judge. He kind 0:06:48.676 --> 0:06:50.276 of gave like this long list of like, Okay, you 0:06:50.316 --> 0:06:52.956 can't have a trial. You're giving up that right, you're 0:06:52.996 --> 0:06:55.636 giving up the rightticipenated witnesses, you're giving up your right 0:06:55.716 --> 0:06:57.716 to testify in your own defense. That he had to 0:06:58.556 --> 0:07:00.476 you know, she was like, do you understand that, and 0:07:00.516 --> 0:07:04.716 Santas said yes. There was a somber of quality to 0:07:04.796 --> 0:07:07.636 his voice in those interactions back and forth with the judge, 0:07:07.676 --> 0:07:13.796 but he was keeping it together in the courtroom. Yeah, 0:07:13.836 --> 0:07:17.436 there was a moment where in the beginning of the 0:07:17.436 --> 0:07:21.356 proceedings where the judge swore him in and asked him 0:07:21.356 --> 0:07:24.396 to raise his right hand and you know, trow to 0:07:24.396 --> 0:07:28.156 tell the truth. And that just felt like a moment 0:07:28.796 --> 0:07:31.036 to have toward Stantos worn to tell the truth. 0:07:31.796 --> 0:07:34.716 Yeah, that is that's crazy. Yeah, I mean it's almost 0:07:34.756 --> 0:07:37.836 like can the judge keep a straight face? I mean, 0:07:40.276 --> 0:07:41.276 did he make a statement? 0:07:42.836 --> 0:07:45.436 He did make a statement. He made a statement in court, 0:07:45.796 --> 0:07:48.996 and then he made a statement outside the courthouse. I mean, 0:07:48.996 --> 0:07:51.796 I just was writing so ferociously. But basically he says 0:07:51.876 --> 0:07:55.916 he started off by saying, I participated in the scheme 0:07:56.596 --> 0:08:02.996 with Nancy Mark. Everything that we talked about, everything that 0:08:03.196 --> 0:08:07.196 you know we talked through with Sturrob is basically what 0:08:07.316 --> 0:08:11.476 he talked to And then he said, you know, I 0:08:11.556 --> 0:08:17.196 deeply regret this. I accept full responsibility. I'm committed to 0:08:17.316 --> 0:08:20.516 making amends. And then he pleaded guilty on both counts. 0:08:21.556 --> 0:08:25.196 When he says that, like, is he's saying that just 0:08:25.316 --> 0:08:28.516 very kind of like wooden and composed, or is there 0:08:28.516 --> 0:08:31.396 emotion there when he's kind of making this apology. 0:08:32.276 --> 0:08:35.396 It's interesting. So when he started to make a statement, 0:08:35.516 --> 0:08:38.356 he asked the judge if he should stand up, and 0:08:38.436 --> 0:08:41.156 I had to think in that moment he was extending 0:08:41.236 --> 0:08:45.476 more dramatics, like more theater out of it as the 0:08:45.556 --> 0:08:47.996 judge told him he could stay seated, like you're not 0:08:48.076 --> 0:08:49.916 getting some big you know swans. 0:08:51.796 --> 0:08:53.716 No, I totally buy that. And that's like, as such 0:08:53.756 --> 0:08:54.756 an astute observation. 0:08:55.836 --> 0:08:58.636 You know, it did feel real, as real as anyone 0:08:58.676 --> 0:09:01.996 can be reading a prepared statement in the sudden courtroom. 0:09:02.076 --> 0:09:04.876 You know, yeah, I'd love to know, you know, we 0:09:04.916 --> 0:09:07.596 talked to a prosecutor on the line. What it means 0:09:07.596 --> 0:09:09.036 that he only pled guilty to two. 0:09:08.956 --> 0:09:12.036 Of them account Yeah, I get the sense that that 0:09:12.236 --> 0:09:17.196 was the proper that the government offered to avoid what 0:09:17.316 --> 0:09:20.316 I have to assume would have been a lengthy and 0:09:20.516 --> 0:09:25.876 expensive trial. If you're thinking about the dozens of layers 0:09:25.956 --> 0:09:30.156 that filled the courtroom today. An assistant US Attorney Ryan Harris, 0:09:30.196 --> 0:09:34.756 who was the main spokesperson for the prosecution today, he 0:09:34.876 --> 0:09:38.756 listed out we were prepared to bring forty witnesses, which 0:09:38.796 --> 0:09:47.716 includes victims, folks, owners, campaign staffers, family co conspirators. I'm 0:09:47.756 --> 0:09:51.476 imagining that would have been Nancy Mark and five hundred 0:09:51.556 --> 0:09:58.076 exhibits including text, photos, emails, audio, video, financial records. You know, 0:09:58.196 --> 0:10:02.876 this would have been an exhaustive and thorough trial. This 0:10:02.996 --> 0:10:05.516 is something I'd been thinking about a lot because as 0:10:05.556 --> 0:10:09.316 the prosecution, how do you tell the story of all 0:10:09.356 --> 0:10:13.156 of these different schemes, Because they're there, each their own story, right, 0:10:14.396 --> 0:10:16.196 It was going to be a real challenge for them, 0:10:16.236 --> 0:10:18.836 and I think also a challenge for a jury to 0:10:18.956 --> 0:10:21.436 keep track of all of these things, and so I 0:10:21.476 --> 0:10:24.036 think people were subjecting it was going to take probably 0:10:24.076 --> 0:10:26.676 over a month to get through all of that, and 0:10:26.796 --> 0:10:30.116 we're losing that detail. So I think that the case 0:10:30.156 --> 0:10:36.996 that the prosecution has built we will never hear. And 0:10:37.036 --> 0:10:39.036 there's something really satisfying about that. 0:10:39.156 --> 0:10:40.756 If you've been following something I have. 0:10:41.676 --> 0:10:43.676 You know, I had been gearing up for this trial, 0:10:44.756 --> 0:10:49.076 and the reporter in me wanted to see this through, 0:10:49.156 --> 0:10:51.556 wanted this through at a trial, wanted every one of 0:10:51.596 --> 0:10:54.676 my questions about what happened with this thou hundred thousand 0:10:54.756 --> 0:10:58.276 dollars loan, right like I had those questions that I 0:10:58.316 --> 0:10:59.916 wanted to see that aired out in court. 0:10:59.956 --> 0:11:00.516 It really did. 0:11:02.036 --> 0:11:04.996 But then hearing today the amount of evidence that the 0:11:04.996 --> 0:11:08.396 prosecution had and the lack of defense that Santa seemed 0:11:08.436 --> 0:11:10.796 to have, you know, it just kind of made this 0:11:10.836 --> 0:11:13.196 feel like the foregone conclusion that whether we sat through 0:11:13.236 --> 0:11:15.356 a lengthy trial or not, the result was basically going 0:11:15.356 --> 0:11:17.556 to still be the same, is that Santras is going 0:11:17.596 --> 0:11:20.836 to be found guilty on at least some of this always. 0:11:21.316 --> 0:11:23.196 But I would say the most dramatic part of the 0:11:23.356 --> 0:11:29.396 entire thing was around the issue of restitutions. Basically, everything 0:11:29.476 --> 0:11:32.556 was coming to an end. It had run about an hour. 0:11:32.956 --> 0:11:36.316 It was very calm. In fact, the judge was thanking 0:11:36.356 --> 0:11:40.156 everyone for being so calm, and then there was this 0:11:40.276 --> 0:11:43.316 back and forth between Santas's lawyers and the judge and 0:11:43.356 --> 0:11:48.236 the prosecutors over this issue of restitution and forfeiture. I 0:11:48.276 --> 0:11:50.876 guess like if Santas going to be able to pay 0:11:51.076 --> 0:11:53.996 this money, And so Joe Murray, who's the attorney that 0:11:53.996 --> 0:11:57.916 we've been reaching out to, at one point like stood 0:11:58.036 --> 0:12:02.276 up even as the proceedings were ending and was just saying, 0:12:02.276 --> 0:12:04.756 you know, Santis is going to make best efforts. He 0:12:04.836 --> 0:12:07.436 kept saying, guest efforts. He's going to do his best 0:12:07.876 --> 0:12:10.916 to try and pay this to pay thirty days before sentencing, 0:12:10.956 --> 0:12:13.356 so what sentencing is actually going to be in February. 0:12:13.596 --> 0:12:15.876 That means he has to come up with hundreds of 0:12:15.876 --> 0:12:19.836 thousands of dollars between now and February. And Joseph Murray, 0:12:19.876 --> 0:12:22.916 his attorney, was taking this point of like, well, we 0:12:23.036 --> 0:12:27.836 don't know how these proceedings will impact his employabilities. 0:12:28.636 --> 0:12:35.436 Which I thought was so interesting and comical. Most previous 0:12:35.476 --> 0:12:38.316 job that I'm aware of was elected official, and I 0:12:38.316 --> 0:12:40.796 don't think he has great credibility on that front. 0:12:40.876 --> 0:12:43.636 I mean, he did earlier this year amount a campaign 0:12:43.716 --> 0:12:47.356 to run for a different Congressional district in New York, 0:12:47.876 --> 0:12:50.676 also on Long Island, but further east, and then he 0:12:50.796 --> 0:12:54.756 suspended that in light of this criminal trial. I assume, so, yeah, 0:12:54.756 --> 0:12:57.836 it is a question of a where he's going to 0:12:57.876 --> 0:13:00.316 get the money to pay back the government and the 0:13:00.396 --> 0:13:05.196 victims and be what his next job is going to be. 0:13:05.996 --> 0:13:09.036 My friend is like a reality TV producer who got 0:13:10.116 --> 0:13:13.036 He got Michael Cohane on his show. I could see 0:13:13.036 --> 0:13:16.636 Santa's doing something like that, or a lot. 0:13:16.476 --> 0:13:20.556 Of cameos, a lot of cameos, like like two hundred 0:13:20.596 --> 0:13:27.356 thousand dollars worth of cameos. Yes, After the hearings included 0:13:28.196 --> 0:13:32.636 Santos gave a very tearful statement outside with his gold 0:13:32.676 --> 0:13:36.516 framed sunglasses, just kind of like choking back tears and 0:13:37.596 --> 0:13:40.556 admitting that he's lied, and there was a huge media 0:13:40.636 --> 0:13:49.076 scrum around him. 0:13:49.156 --> 0:13:52.596 Leading guilty as a step I never imagine I take, 0:13:53.836 --> 0:13:56.196 but it is a necessary one because it is the 0:13:56.276 --> 0:13:58.916 right thing to do. It's not only a recognition of 0:13:58.996 --> 0:14:03.916 my mister red person has to other uys, but more profoundly, 0:14:03.996 --> 0:14:06.556 it is my own recognition of the lies I told 0:14:06.556 --> 0:14:11.796 myself over these past years. 0:14:08.196 --> 0:14:17.276 And then the Brieance piece who's the United States Attorney 0:14:17.356 --> 0:14:20.396 for the Eastern District spoke. You know, they had someone 0:14:20.556 --> 0:14:23.116 from the Justice Department's Criminal Division right to get like 0:14:23.196 --> 0:14:25.636 all the suits, all the big wigs up to give 0:14:25.676 --> 0:14:28.996 their statement about how this can't happen here, and we 0:14:29.116 --> 0:14:33.156 proved that today. You know, it's all political speak and 0:14:33.236 --> 0:14:36.756 it's all about rooting out corruption and accountability. And I 0:14:36.756 --> 0:14:40.236 guess that's what happened today because you know, Santo seemingly 0:14:40.356 --> 0:14:42.996 was afraid of the prosecution and decided to take this plea. 0:14:43.156 --> 0:14:45.756 But it does see a little hollow that we won't 0:14:45.796 --> 0:14:49.596 see all the fiften pieces aired out at a trial 0:14:50.316 --> 0:14:53.836 that maybe would have felt like more honest accountability for this. 0:14:54.836 --> 0:14:58.196 There's something about seeing that image of him walking and 0:14:58.236 --> 0:15:00.716 like the men in black soup that go from glasses 0:15:00.796 --> 0:15:03.836 and again like the star of data on his lapel, 0:15:04.116 --> 0:15:10.076 just like the whole bit. We're just like, we are. 0:15:09.996 --> 0:15:12.076 Not seen the last of this guy. 0:15:12.316 --> 0:15:18.996 He is someone who knows how to command the spotlight 0:15:19.276 --> 0:15:22.756 and he will be back. 0:15:22.916 --> 0:15:44.156 It seems clear to me in some capacity. 0:15:36.516 --> 0:15:39.436 In light of this plea deal, there's so much that 0:15:39.476 --> 0:15:42.916 will never know. We won't hear from the witnesses. People 0:15:42.996 --> 0:15:46.756 who saw Santos operate and were drawn into his web. 0:15:47.956 --> 0:15:51.636 But here's a thing you actually can hear from one 0:15:51.676 --> 0:15:56.076 of them, someone who George Santos befriended and then betrayed. 0:15:56.716 --> 0:16:00.596 She was a gatekeeper to Gatsby Country, an ambassador of 0:16:00.636 --> 0:16:06.076 the very rich, someone who believed in Santos and empowered him, 0:16:06.116 --> 0:16:09.676 and she has a lot to say next time on 0:16:09.796 --> 0:16:10.276 Deep Cover. 0:16:11.276 --> 0:16:15.636 So I expended a lot of my own personal political capital, 0:16:16.476 --> 0:16:22.756 meaning my friends and connections who participate in conservative politics, 0:16:22.796 --> 0:16:26.476 and they supported George for the same reason that I did. 0:16:28.396 --> 0:16:31.876 This episode was reported and produced by Amy Gains McQuaid. 0:16:32.356 --> 0:16:35.876 It was edited by Karen Chakerjee. It was mastered by 0:16:35.916 --> 0:16:41.716 Sarah Bruguerer. Our executive producer is Jacob Smith. Additional audio 0:16:41.756 --> 0:16:45.916 in this episode is from CBS ABC and Newsday Special 0:16:45.956 --> 0:16:49.916 Thanks to Jake Flanagan, Sarah Nix, and Greta Cone. I'm 0:16:50.036 --> 0:16:50.716 Jake Calburn.