DISGRACED former Congressman George Santos' request to quiz potential jurors about their opinions of him has been denied by a judge. Santos ' attorneys fought to include an extensive questionnaire for prospective jurors during jury selection, arguing that intense negative media coverage of the shamed ex-lawmaker could impair his trial. The disgraced former New York congressman is facing a 23-count federal indictment, including money laundering, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
Santos' defense team argued that Judge Joanna Seybert must take additional steps to ensure the ex-lawmaker receives a fair trial. His attorneys' argued the written form "concerning potential jurors' knowledge, beliefs, and preconceptions is needed" because of the extensive negative media coverage about Santos, 36. In their motion, the defense cited over 1,500 news clips and a Saturday Night Live skit about Santos, who has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Read more in The U.S. Sun "For all intents and purposes, Santos has already been found guilty in the court of public opinion," the defense argued.
The defense argued that questionnaires were used during the trial of notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman . "This pervasive and prejudicial publicity creates a substantial likelihood that potential jurors have been exposed to inadmissible and biased information, and have already formed a negative opinion about Santos, thereby jeopardizing his right to a fair trial." But, since being expell.