Rep. George Santos', R-N.Y., former campaign treasurer has agreed to plead guilty on one or more federal felony charges, The New York Times reports, citing court papers and an official with the Eastern District of New York. Nancy Marks, who has overseen the finances of some of the state's most powerful Republicans and sports a reputation marred by allegations of wrongdoing, is expected to appear in Central Islip, N.Y. federal court on Thursday to formally plead guilty, the court official and three sources familiar with the case told the Times.
It is unclear how the charges against Marks will impact Santos, who was indicted in May on 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, lying on federal disclosure forms and theft of public funds. The Republican representative has pleaded not guilty, and he has consistently denied any involvement in his campaign finances. He pushed full responsibility and blame for any related discrepancies on Marks, a close associate of his who worked with him from the start of his 2020 campaign through to his 2022 election, telling a conservative news outlet earlier this year that a "former fiduciary went rogue."
Some legal experts speculated that Marks may have agreed to cooperate in prosecutors' investigation of Santos. "Sounds like a cooperation deal," former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance tweeted. "If pursuant to a cooperation agreement (which I suspect it is), this is very bad for George Santos," added Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., a former federal prosecutor. "It likely means more campaign finance fraud charges to come."
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