ILLINOIS: Donor To Schock Campaign Will Sue To Get His Money Back

Via the Daily Beast:

A former donor to disgraced ex-Rep. Aaron Schock will file a class action lawsuit against him Wednesday morning, in hopes of preventing the Illinois Republican from using campaign funds for his legal defense. Howard Foster, a Chicago lawyer and former donor to the congressman, will be the lead—and so far, only—plaintiff in the case against Schock, two sources familiar with the matter tell The Daily Beast. He has retained Steve Berman, a Seattle lawyer famous for launching high profile class action lawsuits against the likes of Exxon Mobil and Enron, to file the case Wednesday in Chicago Federal Court. Schock resigned last month after it was revealed that he had claimed tens of thousands of dollars in false mileage reimbursements for use of his personal vehicle, among other spending irregularities. “We thought he was honest and had a bright future. We would not have supported him had we known he regularly violated House rules,” Foster wrote in a blog post last month. (Neither Foster nor Berman would speak on the record about the pending case.) Previewing the argument he will likely be making in the legal brief, Foster then wrote, “In light of the situation, he should not convert his campaign funds to any other purpose, such as his legal defense. For that he should have to pay out of his own pocket. Donors should get their money back on some sort of percentage basis, such as in a bankruptcy proceeding.”

Two days ago a downstate Illinois county sent Schock a $76K bill to cover the cost of the special election to replace him. Schock reportedly has over $3M in leftover campaign funds. (Tipped by JMG reader TJ)

Aaron Schock Says Goodbye To Empty House, Compares Himself To Lincoln

Well, both ARE rumored to have slept with men, so...

Feds Launch Schock Investigation

The FBI and federal prosecutors in Illinois have launched an investigation into the finances of soon-to-be former Rep. Aaron Schock.

Schock in recent days announced plans to resign, citing controversy surrounding allegations that he improperly accounted for travel and other contributions from donors and reimbursements for campaign use of a personal car. But the probe managed by prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office in Springfield, Ill., means his legal troubles are just beginning. The FBI has now begun delivering subpoenas seeking testimony before a grand jury in Springfield, Ill. A controversy that began with questions sparked by a light-hearted profile of Schock's "Downton Abbey"-themed office ballooned into a full-blown scandal over the past month that caused the rising GOP star's rapid fall from grace.

(Tipped by JMG reader TJ)

HomoQuotable - James Kirchick

"Gay men want Schock to be gay because, well, they want him. More importantly, they also want him to be gay because it would fit into a convenient narrative about gay conservatives: that they are all morally compromised, self-hating, untrustworthy sellouts. What really angers the gay mob is that Schock is conservative. By trivializing a serious story of corruption with unfounded allegations of homosexuality, they demonstrate their inability to judge the real issues because they’re transfixed on minor ones. While Schock’s gay inquisitors have a theory that his downfall is a direct result of his being gay, the actual reason is likely much simpler: Like many politicians, Schock soon started to believe that he was above the people who elected him, and that the rules didn’t apply." - Homocon James Kirchick, writing for the Daily Beast. (Tipped by JMG reader SpiderPig)

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Kirchick slams the SPLC for putting the Family Research Council on its hate groups list. Kirchick signs a homocon group statement denouncing Mozilla for "punishing" former CEO Brandon Eich. Kirchick gets kicked off a Russian network show after denouncing Russia's "gay propaganda" ban.

Frank Rich: Give Aaron Schock A TV Show

"Back in the day, Groucho Marx used to ask if a vaudeville act “will play in Peoria?” — the theory being that Peoria was the ultimate barometer of mass Middle American taste. Schock, as it happens, represented Peoria, a bedrock conservative district, and there is little evidence to suggest that his hijinks, transgressions, and ambiguous sexuality offended his constituents whatsoever. In other words, he played big time in Peoria. So give this guy a show on Bravo right now. He has one of the most sizzling audition tapes reality television has seen in years. As his father said of his son in an interview this week, 'Two years from now he will be successful if he’s not in jail.' But first Aaron Schock must apologize to Julian Fellowes and the production team at Downton Abbey. That notorious Capitol Hill office — created by an Illinois decorating firm appropriately named Euro Trash — didn’t remotely evoke Edwardian England. With its blood-red walls and busts of Republican presidents, it was nothing if not a Warren Harding–era bordello out of Boardwalk Empire." - Frank Rich, writing for New York Magazine.

Barney Frank: If Aaron Schock Is Gay, He Has Forfeited His Right To The Closet

"I don't know if he's gay or not. But if he is, he's forfeited any right to privacy because he votes anti-gay. My view is that people who are gay who vote to support the right of other people to do it have a right to privacy, but the right to privacy does not include hypocrisy. The one thing that puzzled me, The New York Times had a story about how he redecorated his office to look like Downton Abbey, but all I saw were pictures of like Ulysses S. Grant. It's obviously sort of disjunctive in my mind. There were all these pictures of Republican presidents. I don't know what they were doing in Downton Abbey. I suppose you could say, from a certain angle, Herbert Hoover does look a little bit like Maggie Smith depending on the light, but nobody could have been Ulysses S. Grant. I have to say, if they're not true [the rumors], he spent entirely too much time in the gym for a straight man." - Barney Frank, speaking to Business Insider.

Matt Baume On Aaron Schock

Tweet Of The Day

Details.

UPDATE: Another interesting quote from the above-linked interview: "What this is really about is that Aaron is a little different, you know. He wears stylish clothing and yet he's not gay. And he's not married. And he's not running around with women. So everybody's throwing up their arms. They can't figure out Aaron so he must be crooked. So attack him, bring him down. Because he doesn't fit into our picture."

Maddow On The Fall Of Aaron Schock

Like many, Maddow doesn't think we've heard the full story.

BREAKING: Rep. Aaron Schock Resigns

Politico has the breaking news:

Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock is resigning his seat in Congress. The 33-year-old Republican has been dogged by questions about his spending of taxpayer and campaign dollars. On Monday afternoon, POLITICO posed a lengthy set of questions about charging the government and his campaign tens of thousands of dollars in questionable mileage reimbursements.

“Today, I am announcing my resignation as a Member of the United States House of Representatives effective March 31,” Schock said in a statement. “I do this with a heavy heart. Serving the people of the 18th District is the highest and greatest honor I have had in my life. I thank them for their faith in electing me and letting me represent their interests in Washington. I have given them my all over the last six years. I have traveled to all corners of the District to meet with the people I’ve been fortunate to be able to call my friends and neighbors.”

According to Schock, all these questions about his luxurious lifestyle have proven to be too much of a distraction to him to properly serve his constituents. Uh huh.

UPDATE: A revelation made earlier today may have been the final straw.

Schock billed the federal government and his campaign for logging roughly 170,000 miles on his personal car between January 2010 and July 2014. But when he sold that Chevrolet Tahoe in July 2014, it had only roughly 80,000 miles on the odometer, according to public records obtained by POLITICO under Illinois open records laws. The documents, in other words, indicate he was reimbursed for 90,000 miles more than his car was ever driven. When Schock transferred the SUV to an Illinois dealership in 2014, it had 81,860 miles on the odometer, the documents show. However, between January 2010 and the end of July 2014, he billed the federal government for 123,131 miles driven in his personal vehicle. During the same time period, the Republican billed his “Schock for Congress” campaign account and GOP Generation Y Fund, his leadership political action committee, for another 49,388 miles. Altogether, Schock sought reimbursement for 172,520 miles on his car, despite the fact that he signed documents that certified the vehicle traveled less than half that distance.

That's about $50,000 in extra reimbursements.

RELATED: Schock hasn't spoken on the House floor in over a month. Here's his final speech, which was delivered in mid-February to an apparently empty chamber.

Even More Trouble For Rep. Aaron Schock

Via Blue Nation Review:

Embattled Congressman Aaron Schock used a shell corporation last year to complete a real estate transaction arranged by and financed by Schock’s political supporters and campaign donors — raising troubling new questions about whether he received favorable terms on the purchase price and financing, and whether he repaid the donors with legislative favors and purchases from his campaign account. An investigation by Blue Nation Review has uncovered the purchase of a vacant lumberyard on 3.5 acres of commercial land by a shell corporation controlled by Schock. The seller, broker, and lenders were all top political donors to Aaron Schock who in at least one case was actively lobbying Schock on legislation favorable to his bank.

Jeff Green is the owner of a number of auto dealerships in Peoria. As Paul Singer at USA Today reported, he also owns a helicopter that Schock has utilized on several occasions, possibly in violation of House ethics rules. In 2008, Green paid $2.3 million for a nearly 13 acre parcel of land that was a former Menards hardware store and lumber warehouse on W. Pioneer Parkway in Peoria. He built a Ford dealership – Finish Line Ford – on the larger section of the property that had included the retail portion of Menards. He put the smaller section, which was 3.5 of the 13 acres, up for sale for $1,077,000. Ultimately, however, he sold the property to Aaron Schock for just $300,000, according to the Peoria County Assessor’s office. In the three months following the sale, Schock’s campaign paid out more than $100,000 to two auto dealerships owned by Green.

There's much more about this latest fishy deal at the link. (Tipped by JMG reader Larry)

Schock In Hot Water Over "Photographer"

The National Journal reports:

Schock traveled to India on official business in August 2014, a trip during which he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Global Poverty Project, an advocacy organization that seeks to alleviate extreme poverty internationally, footed the bill, according to a spokesman for the group. But Schock's photographer and videographer, Jonathon Link, traveled with him on the trip, which was well-documented on Schock's Instagram account. The organization offered to pay for the costs of one staffer to accompany Schock as long as the staffer flew economy class, according to the spokesman.

Another aide was originally going to come, but the organization noted they were looking for a photographer, and Schock suggested Link, with whom he has worked in the past, the spokesman said. The photos Link took were made available to both Schock and the Global Poverty Project. The problem is House rules allow a member to accept private money for a companion's travel expenses only if the companion is a staffer, spouse or child. Link was none of those; he didn't appear on Schock's official or campaign payroll until September 2014. Furthermore, Schock never disclosed that Link accompanied him on the trip, according to a review of public records.

Schock has hired a crisis management team to deal with all of the allegations about his spending and travel. (Tipped by JMG reader Larry)

Aaron Schock: I'm Not An Attorney But I Certainly Hope I Didn't Break The law

Embattled GOP Rep. Aaron Schock yesterday spoke to Politico in what the outlet describes as an "evasive" and "defensive" interview.

The question to Rep. Aaron Schock was simple: Do you think you’ve broken any rules or federal laws? But the scandal-plagued congressman did not have a definitive answer. “Well, I certainly hope not,” Schock said. “I’m not an attorney.” The 33-year-old Republican went on to argue that he does his “best” and takes his obligations “very seriously,” which is why he’s enlisted outside advisers to help audit his office’s procedures. “That’s what we can all do, is our best effort,” Schock said. “Well, I would say I take my compliance obligations seriously,” he said when asked whether he accepted improper gifts. “So, to your point, you know, obviously there’s things that we’re going through and if there need to be amendments to my reports, there will be.” Asked again if he thinks he has accepted anything for free and not disclosed it, Schock said, “I have not, uh,” and then paused. “I would just leave it at that.” He was equally evasive about whether he had broken House ethics rules or federal campaign laws. 

High-profile right wingers such as Erick Erickson have called for Schock's resignation.

Erick Erickson: Aaron Schock Must Resign

"I will not belabor the point. Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL)  has proven himself incapable of handling his own money, the money of his donors, and taxpayer money. He has lived excessively off the backs of taxpayers who must be reimbursed and off of donors to whom he is now a servant.  His excuses are now met with revised excuses, further apologies, and corrections to corrected records of expenditures and campaign finance reports. He has lived a life as a celebrity in a city that more and more craves celebrity over competence in office. He should resign. Perhaps Downton Abbey needs someone else to fill the role of an American playboy chasing a Crawley. He can go spend time on the real set instead of trying to dress up his office at our expense or that of his donors." - Fox News commentator Erick Erickson, writing for Red State. Erickson's post includes a link to Schock's 47% rating from the right wing Heritage Foundation. Erickson most recently appeared on JMG when he compared LGBT Americans to ISIS.

More Questions For Rep. Aaron Schock

Thanks in part to his own Instagram account, Rep. Aaron Schock is facing more questions about his spending on travel and personal expenses. Via the Chicago Tribune:

Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock, a rising Republican star already facing an ethics inquiry, has spent taxpayer and campaign funds on flights aboard private planes owned by some of his key donors, The Associated Press has found. There also have been other expensive travel and entertainment charges, including for a massage company and music concerts. The expenses highlight the relationships that lawmakers sometimes have with donors who fund their political ambitions, an unwelcome message for a congressman billed as a fresh face of the GOP. The AP identified at least one dozen flights worth more than $40,000 on donors' planes since mid-2011. The AP tracked Schock's reliance on the aircraft partly through the congressman's penchant for uploading pictures and videos of himself to his Instagram account. The AP extracted location data associated with each image then correlated it with flight records showing airport stopovers and expenses later billed for air travel against Schock's office and campaign records. Asked for comment, Schock responded in an email on Monday that he travels frequently throughout his Peoria-area district "to stay connected with my constituents" and also travels to raise money for his campaign committee and congressional colleagues.

A DC-based watchdog group has already filed two ethics complaints against Schock.

Chicago Tribune Slams Aaron Schock

From the Tribune's editorial board:

His constituents have always known Schock is not the usual politician, and the revelation that he’s an ardent Anglophile would have been harmless if it didn’t accompany doubts about his ethical judgment. Few people care if he wants to spend his personal funds on eccentric remodeling plans. But some of the other stuff is more worrisome. When his congressional office account is footing the bill for him to fly by private jet instead of commercial airliner, or paying for $100,000 worth of improvements in his office, the people of his district will wonder if he’s not a careful steward of their tax dollars. If he has a habit of accepting forbidden gifts from friends and supporters, he could face House penalties. Schock won re-election to his fourth term last year with a gaudy 75 percent of the vote. He has been mentioned as a candidate for higher office, such as senator or governor. His youthful good looks and fundraising talent suggest he has great potential. We endorsed him last year with praise for “his fiscal chops and his willingness to advocate for unpopular fixes.” He’s been a good congressman in most respects, but Schock needs to get to serving the public, not himself. Otherwise he may end up like the aristocrats in Downton Abbey: contemplating a future far less congenial than the past.

(Tipped by JMG reader Larry)

Another Ethics Complaint For Schock

Via press release:

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) again asked the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) to investigate whether Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) violated federal law and House rules by selling his house to a campaign contributor for a price well above its market value. Rep. Schock’s 2012 home sale appears to have violated House gift rules. “Buying a house from someone for much more than it’s worth is no different than buying someone an expensive gift,” said CREW Interim Executive Director Anne Weismann. “Given that the buyer in this case was a campaign donor to Rep. Schock whose former employer has also backed his campaigns, the public needs to know what Mr. Bahaj expected in return for his generosity.”

Read the full complaint. My first post about Schock's former home is here.

RELATED: Yesterday Politico took a look at Schock's "lavish" personal spending habits.

He charters private planes and employs a personal photographer. In Aspen, Colorado, he stays at the Little Nell, a five-star resort near the ski slopes. In Las Vegas, he prefers the pricey Wynn hotel. While in Vail, Colorado, and San Francisco, it’s the Four Seasons. In Miami Beach, he’s sampled the Delano, Fontainebleau and the exclusive Soho Beach House. And in Beverly Hills, California, he’s tried both the Peninsula and the Beverly Wilshire. Illinois GOP Rep. Aaron Schock raises a lot of money, for himself and other Republicans — he had $3.2 million in the bank at the end of December. And through his web of campaign committees, the 33-year-old lawmaker also spends lavishly. Schock’s campaign has also purchased a $74,000 Chevrolet Tahoe to help get him around back home in Illinois, in addition to a $27,000 Ford. To keep track of all his comings and goings, Schock has hired a personal photographer. Jonathon Link, a former Dallas-area wedding photographer, now snaps shots for Schock, and both his campaign and taxpayers pick up the bill.

A personal photographer? Uh huh. That's Mr. Link on the far right.  Read more about him here.

(Tipped by JMG reader Arch)

Schock's Worst Week Gets Worser

From Blue Nation Review:

The month before the 2012 elections, Congressman Schock sold his house to a major Republican donor who was also one of his campaign supporters for a price that appears to far exceed the market value at the time. Ali Bahaj – then a Vice President at Caterpillar – and his wife Gloria have donated more than $45,000 over the last decade to the Caterpillar PAC and various Republican officeholders – including Congressman Schock. In fact, Federal Election Commission records show that Mr. and Mrs. Bahaj each made the maximum allowable donation to Aaron Schock’s campaign in 2008. Congressman Schock on October 16, 2012 sold his home to the Bahajs for $925,000. That’s more than three times the tax assessed value of the property. Zillow estimates that the house was worth approximately $695,000 that month. It’s possible Congressman Schock just got incredibly lucky finding the right buyer to throw him a life raft as homeowners around him were drowning. But it begs the question: Was this transaction more than just luck?

Hit the link for comparisons to other recent home sales on that street. (Tipped by JMG reader TJ)

Schock Spox Resigns

That didn't take long.

Aaron Schock's Bad Week Gets Worse

Details.