George Santos arrest news – live: Republican calls probe ‘witch hunt’ after pleading not guilty to 13 charges

George Santos, the New York congressman who rose to prominence for a string of exaggerations, lies, and irregularities related to his personal background and campaign finances, pleaded not guilty after being hit with a series of federal charges. He told the press after exiting the courthouse on Wednesday that the probe is a “witch hunt” and that he’s planning to run for reelection. Mr Santos surrendered to the authorities and was taken into custody at a federal courthouse. He was released on a $500,000 bond ahead of his next court appearance on 30 June. Mr Santos has been charged with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. Utah GOP Senator Mitt Romney led the calls for him to go, saying, “He has demonstrated by his untruthfulness that he should not be in the United States Congress — perhaps should not even be on the public streets”. Read More Wire fraud, money laundering and stealing public money: Here are the 13 charges against George Santos George Santos calls federal charges a ‘witch hunt’ and refuses to resign following arrest Inside George Santos’ drag queen days as ‘Kitara Ravache’ - and how his ‘young and fun’ past was exposed George Santos: Every lie disgraced Republican Congressman has been accused of making