Rep. George Santos pleaded not guilty in federal court Friday to the 10 new charges filed on Oct. 10 in a superseding indictment that includes identity theft, credit card fraud and conspiracy.

Judge Joanna Seybert of U.S. District Court said his trial will likely be held on Sept. 9, 2024 since she is presiding over criminal cases that didn’t waive the right to a speedy trial which take precedence. It would also give time for jury selection, she said.

Santos, 35, wearing a dark suit with red shoes, spoke little in court and left without speaking to reporters, blowing them and protesters shouting at him a kiss before leaving the courthouse.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Harris asked the judge if Seybert’s schedule “opens up” to consider holding the trial earlier in May or June, saying it should only take about three weeks and that it’s of “public interest” since he’s a sitting congressman.

Harris also mentioned the development Thursday of a privilege resolution made in the U.S. House of Representatives to expel Santos from office, a move which forces the chamber to vote on the resolution as early as next week. To expel him would require a two-thirds majority, meaning every Democrat and a dozen Republicans would need to vote yes.

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, who made the motion said, “while George Santos is entitled to his day in court to plead his innocence, the people of New York’s 3rd Congressional District deserve a representative who is solely focused on serving the public and not spending the majority of their time combating 23 federal charges such as wire fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds. We must remove this conman from Congress.”

Santos withdrew his contention that Joseph Murray, his lawyer, who has an office in Great Neck, was in violation of conflict of interest law. The congressman said Murray, dubbed person No. 1 in the indictment, and Nancy Marks, Santos’ former campaign treasurer, discussed representation with him. Murray told the judge he is “taking every precaution”against it.

Murray, who ran in 2019 for Queens district attorney, had Marks help him with campaigning. “That’s the extent of my relationship” with her, Murray told Seybert.

The judge let Santos retain Murray rather than ordering a federal defender to take on the case.

Marks pleaded guilty earlier in October to fraudulently reporting hundreds of thousands in fake loans that Santos claimed he raised during his campaign.

Together they “devised and executed a fraudulent scheme to obtain money for the campaign by submitting materially false reports to the FEC on behalf of the campaign in which they inflated the campaign’s fund-raising numbers for the purpose of misleading the [Federal Election Commission], a national party committee, and the public,” according to prosecutors.

The financial reports allowed Santos to reach the benchmarks needed to receive financial support from the national party committee, court documents reveal.

Santos was initially charged in May with 13 counts including wire fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds. He pleaded not guilty and was released on a $500,000 bond.

Seybert said since Murray attested there is no conflict of interest, Santos’ defense cannot change their minds later and cite it as an issue in the case.

Murray called Marks an “indispensable witness” they anticipate calling on to testify since finances are a big part of the indictments. Marks is “such a critical witness” he said, she is necessary “so my client can have a fair trial.”

“Not much I can do about that,” Seybert said, and set a conference date for Dec. 12, giving the parties time to “make sure we have everything ready to go.”

When Santos left the courthouse over a dozen hecklers screamed at him, “hey, hey, ho, ho Santos has got to go,” “put that liar in the firer” and “you killed my dog.”

A press conference held by Concerned Citizens of NY after court drew speakers from numerous districts, all upset at Santos and their representation in Washington for not doing more to rid of from the House.

“We knew he was a liar, we knew he was a criminal, but we didn’t really think he was that stupid. He’s looking at over 20 years in prison, so why didn’t he plea? It’s probably because he loves playing congressmen, he likes being in the room where it’s all happening and most especially because he likes collecting his salary of $174,000,” said volunteer Jody Kass Finkel of Great Neck.

“The Republicans in Congress have failed us,” Finkel said, “It’s been 10 months since we have had representation. So we have been looking to the judiciary to help us. But the fact that the judge can’t make room in her schedule until the fall possibly is really a huge disappointment.”