Former U.S. Rep. George Santos’ lawyer expressed optimism about plea negotiations in Santos’ criminal fraud case Tuesday, successfully fending off prosecutors’ attempts to speed up the the ousted congressman’s trial.

Two relatives helped indicted U.S. Rep. George Santos stay out of detention while he awaits trial by guaranteeing his bond.

Rep. George Santos says he's just trying to protect family members by asking the courts to keep his bond cosigners secret as he fights criminal charges.

A federal magistrate has ruled to make public the names of the cosigners on indicted Rep. George Santos’ $500,000 release bond, but said she’ll keep them secret for now to give his lawyer time to appeal the decision.

Rep. George Santos’ lawyer says the indicted Republican would risk going to jail to protect the identities of the people who cosigned the $500,000 bond enabling his pretrial release.

U.S. Rep. George Santos was charged with criminal theft in Pennsylvania in 2017 in connection with bad checks apparently used to buy puppies from dog breeders.