It's not every day that a federal district judge accuses the government of misleading the Court and demands corrective action. But it's happening in the Urbana Division of the Central District of Illinois. I posted here in March regarding the federal case against former Congressman Aaron Schock. Among other items of alleged government misconduct, the defense maintained that prosecutors improperly commented to grand jurors on Schock's failure to testify, in violation of his Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self-Incrimination. The defense relied in part on an affidavit by a dismissed grand juror. After unequivocally denying the grand juror's allegation, the government clarified the record, more than six months later, admitting that government counsel "commented on or addressed Mr. Schock's testifying or decision not to testify before the grand jury" on eleven occasions. U.S. District Judge Colin Bruce was not amused, and ordered the government to review each of its previous filings "to ensure that no more false or misleading claims were made." Judge Bruce also gave the government 14 days to file a memo "detailing any further misrepresentations or misleading statements." Here is Judge Bruce's Order Requiring Government Memorandum re Misrepresentations. The government responded yesterday, denying that it had misrepresented anything to the Court, asking the Court to reconsider its finding regarding misrepresentation, and representing further that it had not intentionally made any materially misleading statements in its prior filings. Here is the Government's Compliance with the Court's October 3 Order and Motion to Reconsider. Schock, represented by George Terwillliger, Bob Bittman, Benjamin Hatch, Nicholas Lewis, and Christina Egan of McGuire Woods in DC and Chicago and by Jeffrey Lang of Lane & Waterman in Davenport, Iowa, wasted no time, not even a day, in firing back. Here is Schock's Motion to Strike or in the Alternative Leave to File a Response. Here as well is Schock's Proposed Response to Government's Compliance. In a future post, I will examine the nature of the government's comments to the grand jurors.
Tag: Aaron Schock
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Former Illinois Congressman Aaron Shock's attorneys filed two motions in federal court yesterday, alleging massive government misconduct in the investigation that led to their client's indictment on multiple misconduct and fraud related charges. The allegations center around the government's alleged use of one of then-Congressman Schock's junior staffers as a confidential informant who purportedly recorded conversations covered by the Speech and Debate Clause and the attorney-client privilege, and also stole various privileged materials. The government has apparently conceded that some of the informant's actions were improper and has promised not to use certain evidence he obtained, but if even half of Schock's allegations turn out to be true it will constitute a major embarrassment to DOJ. You look at the facts detailed in Schock's motions and have to be wondering what the government was thinking in using these kinds of tactics in the wake of the Jefferson case and Abramoff era investigations that brought Speech and Debate issues to the fore. There is also an allegation that government prosecutors gave incorrect legal advice to the grand jury. Schock wants more information about the government's use of the informant and access to additional grand jury materials. Here are the Schock Memorandum in Support of Motion for Discovery Regarding Use of Confidential Informant and the Schock Memorandum in Support of Motion for Discovery of Grand Jury Materials. Here is coverage from The Hill and the Washington Post. More to come as this case progresses. Schock is represented by George Terwillliger, Bob Bittman, Benjamin Hatch, Nicholas Lewis, and Christina Egan of McGuie Woods in DC and Chicago and by Jeffrey Lang of Lane & Waterman in Davenport, Iowa. The case is being prosecuted out of the Central District of Illinois.
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