George Santos wants jury pool in his fraud trial questioned over their opinions of him

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. George Santos wants potential jurors in his September fraud trial to be questioned about their opinions of him.

The request is among a number of issues a judge is expected to consider during a Tuesday hearing in federal court on Long Island. Santos has pleaded not guilty to a range of financial crimes, including lying to Congress about his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits while actually working and using campaign contributions to pay for such personal expenses as designer clothing.

The New York Republican’s lawyers argue in recent court filings that the written form “concerning potential jurors’ knowledge, beliefs, and preconceptions” is needed because of the extensive negative media coverage surrounding Santos, who was expelled from Congress in December after an ethics investigation found “overwhelming evidence” he’d broken the law and exploited his public position for his own profit.

They cite more than 1,500 articles by major news outlets and a " Saturday Night Live " skit about Santos. They also note similar questionnaires were used in other high profile federal cases in New York, including the trial of notorious drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

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