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<\/p>\nFederal Court Refuses to Toss Criminal Indictments Against Former Rep. Aaron Schock<\/b>
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A federal appeals court dealt former Rep. Aaron Schock a major legal blow on Wednesday<\/a>, refusing to throw out his criminal indictment on 22 corruption charges including filing false tax returns, mail fraud, wire fraud, submitting false reports to the FEC, false statements, and theft of government funds.<\/p>\n Politico reports<\/a>: \u201cSchock\u2019s arguments for appealing the indictment centered on two main points. First, under the Speech or Debate Clause, a constitutional protection given to lawmakers and staff for legitimate legislative activities, he can\u2019t be charged with falsifying reimbursement claims. Secondly, in a more technical argument, Schock\u2019s lawyers asserted that since reimbursement regulations were created by House rule, it would be a violation of separation-of-powers principles for the executive branch, via the Justice Department, to charge him with a crime. Under Schock\u2019s approach, only the House could interpret whether he violated House rules.\u201d<\/p>\n Schock has been trying to get the charges, which originally numbered 24, thrown out for years. His last unsuccessful attempt<\/a> was last fall.<\/p>\n In August 2017<\/a>, Schock\u2019s lawyers asked for the case to be dismissed because, according to the attorneys, witnesses were asked \u201cdistasteful, offensive,\u201d and \u201cprejudicial\u201d questions about every part\u00a0of Schock\u2019s sex<\/a> life including whether he is gay<\/a> and if his girlfriend<\/a> was a beard. The lawyers accused investigators of \u201cprosecutorial misconduct on a variety of grounds\u201d over the invasive questions and asked for the case to be dismissed.<\/p>\n Schock\u2019s troubles began when photos of his Downton Abbey-inspired\u00a0congressional office leaked and it was then discovered\u00a0that he illegally accepted a designer\u2019s services for free.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n In March of 2015, the FBI\u00a0began an investigation into Schock\u2019s spending habits<\/a>, an investigation that ultimately revealed \u201cuntoward allegations\u201d about Schock that\u00a0would damage his reputation<\/a>, according to his lawyers. Schock faces a 24-count indictment for filing false tax returns and covering up fraud schemes, and using government and campaign funds improperly.<\/p>\n The disgraced anti-gay<\/a> Illinois lawmaker\u00a0resigned from his seat in 2015<\/a>\u00a0after questions arose\u00a0about his alleged misuse of funds.<\/p>\n Schock can appeal Wednesday\u2019s ruling to the full 7th Circuit Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n The post Federal Court Refuses to Toss Criminal Indictments Against Former Rep. Aaron Schock<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n