Judge turns down ex-Rep. George Santos' request to nix some charges ahead of fraud trial

Former U.S. Rep. George Santos has lost a bid to get rid of part of the criminal case against him as he heads toward trial on charges that include defrauding campaign donors. U.S. District Joanna Seybert turned down Santos’ request Friday. He was seeking the dismissal of charges of aggravated identity theft and theft of public money — in all, three of the 23 charges against him. The judge wrote that the indictment met the legal bar for the charges in question. Prosecutors and Santos' lawyers declined to comment.