Former Congressman Schock won’t stand trial until 2018

By Holly Eitenmiller For Chronicle Media

Aaron Schock, former Congressman for 18th Congressional District

By the time Aaron Schock stands trial on corruption charges, nearly three years will have passed since the former U.S. Representative resigned from office.

On May 19, U.S. District Judge Colin Bruce of Urbana reset Schock’s July 10 trial date to Jan. 22, 2018.

Schock’s attorneys requested the delay May 17 based on a number pending motions. Chief U.S. District Judge James Shadid assigned Schock’s case to Bruce after U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough recused herself from the case in January.

Myerscough excused herself from the case after defense attorneys disclosed information that may have created doubt regarding her impartiality. In 2011, Schock paired with U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) to prevent Myerscough from becoming chief judge in Illinois’ central federal district by commissioning another judge before her.

The commission, signed by President Obama, gave Judge Shadid seniority over Myerscough. Also, Myerscough, a Democrat, considered challenging Schock in the 2008 for the seat he won that year.

Bruce was assigned Jan. 21, a day after Myerscough stepped down.

The nod from Bruce for a delay is one of few triumphs so far for the former congressman who decorated his Capitol Hill office to the lavish theme of the PBS Masterpiece series, “Downton Abbey” and indulged in excursions to a Miami Beach fitness club.

Schock was indicted Nov. 10, 2016 on 24 counts of fraud, including wire and mail fraud, false tax returns, theft of government funds and more. All are felonies.

Schock, who turns 36 on May 28, resigned his House seat in March 2015 in the wake of the government inquiry into these allegations.

On Dec. 8, 2016, Myerscough denied Schock’s request to move the trial from Springfield to his hometown of Peoria to avoid the 75-minute drive to the state capitol. The case, he claimed, has no connection to Springfield; an assumption that federal prosecuting attorney Tim Bass disputed by pointing out that 10 counties of the Schock’s former district reside within the Springfield division.

Schock was thwarted again, May 18, in a request to review grand jury transcripts, claiming federal prosecutors may have improperly instructed or mislead grand jury members. Grand jury transcripts are rarely distributed.

In a 10-page order, Bruce accused the defense of second-guessing the grand jury’s determination.

“This court is comfortable concluding that Defendant’s disagreement with a portion of three witnesses’ grand jury testimony along with a triple hearsay note are simply not enough to require the extraordinary relief Defendant is requesting,” Bruce wrote.

 

Previously, Schock accused prosecutors in the case of misconduct, claiming the FBI secretly recorded conversations with former staffers, and stole documents from his office. In response, prosecutors say Schock is avoiding trial by engaging “in an increasingly aggressive search for some governmental misconduct claim.”

Schock has also requested to review information regarding a confidential informant. In March, defense attorneys said in a filing that a former Schock employee illegally recorded conversations.

All former members of the House of Representatives are given floor privileges indefinitely. Though it may seem that Schock’s political career is finished, he has exercised his floor privileges. In June, 2016, he attended a joint session of Congress in support of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

 

 

 

— Former Congressman Schock won’t stand trial until 2018 —