Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent at the White House

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy probably wishes George Santos – and the distractions and drama that has followed him to Congress – would just go away. But he also can’t afford to lose him – and his vote.

With only a nine-seat majority in the House of Representatives, McCarthy needs every warm Republican body he can get. And unlike some of the conservative hard-liners who appear willing to jettison McCarthy from his leadership spot at the first sign of ideological wavering, Santos’s support has been reliable.

So even before today’s indictment was unsealed, McCarthy publicly stated the New York congressman would continue to serve in office unless he is convicted. The speaker has precedent to rely on, as well. There is a long list of congressional politicians, Republican and Democrat, who have been indicted and continued to hold office while their trials proceeded.

There have been others who have resigned under political and public pressure, of course, but invariably those situations involved safe seats for the incumbent party where a majority did not hang in the balance.

That is not the case with Santos. And, for the moment, it is his political lifeline.

In announcing the charges today, Breon Peace, a US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said prosecutors were seeking to hold Santos accountable for "various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations".

“Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself," Peace said.

"He used political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House of Representatives."

Peace pledged to continue to "aggressively root out corruption" and hold public officials accountable.

Asked by reporters yesterday what else he had going on this week, he replied "No, there's nothing" happening.

The Republican congressman is currently being fingerprinted and having his mug shot taken in federal court on Long Island in New York, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Santos entered the courtroom from a back door of the building, avoiding a crowd of reporters who had waited for hours to see him there, according to the New York Times.

For context, prosecutors have said Santos lied about earning $750,000 (£590,000) from his company, the Devolder Organization.

Court documents allege he had falsely claimed to have received between $1m (£790,000) and $5m (£3.95m) in dividends from the company.

“These assertions were false. Santos had not received from the Devolder Organization the reported amounts of salary or dividends," prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Santos also falsely claimed he had a chequing account with deposits of between $100,001 (£79,000) and $250,000 (£197,000); and a savings account with deposits of between $1m and $5m.

Image source, Getty Images

George Santos could face a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars if convicted of the most serious charge, according to the Justice Department.

The Republican congressman has been charged with 13 counts. Here's what each of them alleges:

• Counts one through five: wire fraud - Santos allegedly sent emails and texts falsely claiming that money raised would be used for his House campaign
• Counts six through eight: unlawful monetary transactions over $10,000 - on three separate occasions, Santos allegedly electronically transferred more than $20,000 of funds into his bank account
• Count nine: theft of public money - between June 2020 and April 2021, Santos allegedly stole public funds from the government
• Counts 10 and 11: fraudulent unemployment benefits - between June 2020 and April 2021, Santos "knowingly and intentionally devise[d] a scheme" to defraud the New York State Department of Labor, prosecutors say
• Counts 12 and 13: prosecutors allege he made false statements to Congress on income disclosure forms

Prosecutors are claiming the Republican congressman falsely told supporters he was raising money for TV advertisements.

Instead, they claim, he withdrew the money for personal uses, paying back car loans, credit card payments and personal debts while also purchasing designer clothing.

Image source, Getty Images

Santos applied for Covid-19 unemployment benefits in 2020 despite the fact that he was actually employed at an investment firm, according to the court documents.

He falsely claimed the benefits for nearly a year, prosecutors say.

We've just heard that Republican congressman Gorge Santos is to be arraigned in court today at 13:00 ET (18:00 BST) at the Alfonse D’Amato Federal Courthouse on New York's Long Island.

Santos is facing two counts of lying to the US House of Representatives.

Federal prosecutors say he lied about how much money he earned from his company, the Devolder Organization. He also lied about having a checking account with between $100,000 and $250,000, according to prosecutors.

In court documents unsealed this morning after Santos handed himself in, prosecutors allege the Republican congressman participated in an elaborate fraud scheme.

More specifically, they claim he defrauded those who gave him money for his House of Representatives campaign, instead using the funds for personal expenses including luxury designer clothing and credit card payments.

We're going through court documents now and will keep you updated as we learn more.

The Republican congressman has just turned himself in to authorities at federal court on Long Island.

He's 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.

Image source, Getty Images

The New York Republican congressman is a relative newcomer to politics.

Before winning his House race in the November 2022 midterm election, the 34-year-old claimed he was "the full embodiment of the American dream": an openly gay child of Brazilian immigrants who rose through the Wall Street ranks before entering the world of politics.

But within weeks of taking office, it was reported that much of his CV was fake.

Among the series of allegations he faces: lying about his college degrees and his work experience; violating campaign finance and conflict of interest laws; falsely claiming his grandparents survived the Holocaust; and creating a fake animal charity he allegedly used to siphon away cash meant for a veteran's dying dog.

Santos has admitted to “embellishing” his resume, but he’s denied some of the more concerning accusations against him, including theft.

You can read more about who the congressman is and why he’s embroiled in scandal here.

Hello and thanks for joining our live coverage of Republican Congressman George Santos.

Santos is expected to turn himself in to authorities in federal court in Long Island, New York sometime this morning.

Federal prosecutors charged the embattled House Republican yesterday evening.

We don’t know yet what the charges are but we’ll likely find out when he’s arraigned in court, which could be as early as this afternoon.