Federal prosecutors are seeking a delay in the criminal case against U.S. Rep. George Santos. The request is prompting debate as to whether a plea deal is being considered for Santos, a Republican who represents parts of the North Shore on Long Island and Queens.

Prosecutors filed a motion Tuesday, requesting to move the status conference from this Thursday to Oct. 27. The motion was filed ahead of a status conference slated for federal court in Central Islip,

“The defendant joins in this request,” prosecutors wrote in a letter to Judge Joanna Seybert.

In June, prosecutors said they had turned over more than 80,000 pages of materials to Santos’ lawyers in the federal fraud and money laundering case against him.

The delay would give Santos additional time to continue reviewing “the voluminous discoverable material previously produced by the government,” prosecutors wrote.

In addition, prosecutors wrote in the motion, the “government anticipates making another substantial production of discoverable material.”

Now, prosecutors said, “the parties have continued to discuss possible paths forward in this matter. The parties wish to have additional time to continue those discussions.”

The letter from prosecutors filed earlier this week has sparked debate as to whether Santos is seeking a plea deal.

Yet on Tuesday, Santos took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, seemingly in response to any plea-deal debates.  In his post, he wrote “Word of the day: Speculation.” In the post he went on to say, Meaning: The forming of a theory or conjecture without firm evidence.”

Meanwhile, in New York’s 3^rd congressional district, which Santos represents, a group of constituents continue to call for his resignation.  Concerned Citizens of NY-03, which describes itself as nonpartisan, said in a news release that it “wants to make sure that, as in any criminal case, the victim’s wishes are considered in structuring the plea deal.” However, the group went on to say,  the “wishes of the victims here — Santos’s constituents — are that this conman be compelled to immediately step down from his role as a Member of the House of Representatives, which would allow for a special election for his replacement as soon as possible.”

Santos pleaded not guilty earlier this year to charges that he duped donors, stole from his campaign, collected fraudulent unemployment benefits and lied to Congress about being a millionaire.

Prosecutors have charged Santos with 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Taken together, the allegations suggest Santos relied on “repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself,” according to Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for Long Island.

Santos has condemned the federal investigation as a “witch hunt,” vowing not only to remain in Congress but to seek reelection. Republican leaders have urged Santos not to run again but have deferred efforts to expel the freshman representative that could narrow their slim majority.

Federal prosecutors say Santos misused funds that he raised for his campaign on personal expenses, including designer clothes and credit cards.

He is also accused of lying about his finances on congressional disclosure forms and obtaining unemployment benefits while making $120,000 as regional director of an investment firm, which was later shut down over Security and Exchange Commission allegations that it was a Ponzi scheme. Santos wasn’t named in the SEC complaint and has said he was shocked by the allegations.

Earlier this week, Santos told Talking Points Memo that any ideas over whether he and his counsel were considering a plea deal are “wildly inaccurate.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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