Aaron Schock Staffers Subpoenaed, Donor Files Lawsuit, Special Election Dates Set
By Margaret Paulson in News on Apr 15, 2015 7:20PM
Earlier today, the Illinois State Board of Elections announced the dates for special elections for the 18th Congressional District in the wake of former Rep. Aaron Schock’s resignation.
A federal judge set primary elections for July 7 and special election on Sept. 10. Candidates can file nomination papers starting Wednesday, with a deadline of Monday, April 20.
Schock announced his resignation— effective on March 31— on March 17 after months of speculation about his lavish lifestyle, including Downton Abbey-style office decor and luxury vacations complete with personal photographer. Even before his resignation took effect, the Feds launched a criminal investigation into his office and campaign finances. In fact, Schock has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee since 2012. The list of questionable behavior by the disgraced congressman is egregious; it also includes misclassifying mileage on his SUV and shady relationships with political donors. For example, from Jan. 1, 2010 through June 30, 2014, Schock was reimbursed about $90,000 by taxpayers and his political fund for 171,000 miles on his Chevy Tahoe. However, as Politico first reported, when Shock sold his car in 2014, there were only 81,000 miles on it.
Four former Schock staffers have been issued subpoenas by the Justice Department, including chief of staff Mark Roman, district chief of staff Dayne LaHood, Schock’s former district office manager in Peoria, Bryan Rudolph and Sarah Rogers, his executive assistant. A grand jury in Springfield began hearing testimony in April.
Chicago lawyer Howard Foster filed a class-action lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court in Chicago through the law firm Hagens Berman, seeking a refund for his campaign donation. Though Foster’s sum was paltry in the scheme of things— $500— he is suing for himself and “on behalf of all others similarly situated”; for refunds, arguing Schock misrepresented himself as “ethical” and a “breath of fresh air,” though he is in fact someone who took part in “political sleaze for personal gain.”
According to TIME, political lawyers think the lawsuit likely doesn’t hold water because “campaign donations are not guarantees.” Howard and his lawyers are hoping a federal judge will accept the suit as class-action, though, as The Daily Beast reports, "such a legal campaign - typically used against companies that make defective products -is unprecedented in the annals of American politics."