Federal judge orders Aaron Schock prosecutors to review all court filings for inaccuracies
Former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock/Wikipedia
Federal prosecutors must review all their court filings in the fraud case against former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock to determine whether they made any false or misleading assertions after admitting a previous inaccuracy, according to the Illinois federal judge overseing the case.
U.S. District Judge Colin Bruce of Urbana issued the order (PDF) after prosecutors retracted a previous assertion that they had not commented on Schock’s failure to testify before the grand jury, report Politico, the Peoria Journal Star and the Associated Press.
The government originally denied commenting to the grand jury, saying it “unequivocally submits to this court that this allegation is false. It did not happen.” More than six months later, the prosecution corrected the statement, admitting that a government lawyer commented on or addressed Schock’s decision not to testify 11 times before two grand juries.
“Therefore, to ensure the accuracy of the record, as well as the integrity of this court,” Bruce wrote, “the government is ordered to review all claims and statements made in its current filings to ensure that there are no more false or misleading claims.”
Schock, a former Republican congressman from Illinois, is accused of defrauding the federal government and his campaign committees by submitting false invoices for office redecorating and personal expenses. He had redecorated his congressional office with a Downton Abbey motif.
Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Hansen will have to submit a memo to the court summarizing the results of its review within two weeks.
