Judge Tosses 2 Charges Against Schock; 20 Remain
Further motions could delay former Illinois congressman’s corruption trial scheduled to begin in January
The judge in former Rep. Aaron Schock’s corruption case threw out two of the charges pending against him and left open the possibility that others could be dismissed before his trial begins in January.
The disgraced Illinois Republican still faces 20 charges. He was indicted last November for wire fraud, mail fraud, making false statements, filing a false tax return, theft of government money, and falsification of Federal Election Commission filings.
“At this stage in the litigation, the court is simply concerned with the sufficiency of the indictment … However, because the court is not yet privy to the evidence the government will rely upon during trial, it is possible that this issue may need to be revisited,” U.S. District Judge Colin Bruce wrote.
One of the charges that was thrown out alleged Schock attempted to circumvent House rules, which prosecutors claim bar him from profiting off an annual event Schock held, the Peoria Journal Star reported.
The other dismissed charge alleged that Schock stole government money. Bruce said that there was little detail and that prosecutors were attempting to shoehorn many allegations into one count.
It is unclear whether Schock’s trial date will still take place in January 2018 as scheduled. There are still pending motions that must be taken up before then and it’s possible that either side will appeal Monday’s rulings, which could stop the case until they’re ruled on.