Tag: aaron schock
Mileage Representative Aaron Schock Billed For Personal SUV Adds To Legal Woes

Mileage Representative Aaron Schock Billed For Personal SUV Adds To Legal Woes

By Katherine Skiba, Angela Caputo, and Todd Lighty, Chicago Tribune (TNS)

CHICAGO — Representative Aaron Schock’s world travels have been well-chronicled by him on Instagram, and to his dismay, more recently by news reporters.

There are photos of Schock dancing the tango with a long-legged woman in Buenos Aires, parasailing in the Andes and surfing the waves off Hawaii.

But what is less known about Schock, and less publicly chronicled, is the number of miles supposedly racked up in the mundane task of driving his Chevrolet Tahoe, much of it presumably around his central Illinois district.

An analysis of government documents and Schock campaign finance records shows that from January first, 2010, through June 30, 2014, Schock was reimbursed by taxpayers and his political funds roughly $90,000 for putting about 171,000 miles on his personal vehicle.

The news outlet Politico first reported on Schock’s mileage peculiarities. It found that when Schock sold his Tahoe in July 2014, it actually had a total of about 81,000 miles on it, far less than the miles for which Schock was reimbursed. Illinois secretary of state records show that the Tahoe was the only vehicle registered to Schock at the time.

His driving habits, global travels, and business dealings have now drawn the attention of the Justice Department. Prosecutors are moving to subpoena potential witnesses as an FBI investigation gets underway in Springfield and Washington, according to sources.

Schock, 33, once a rising star seen as a fresh face for the Republican Party, abruptly announced last week he was resigning from Congress effective March 31.

A spokesman said Schock has “reimbursed all the monies received for official mileage since his election to Congress.” Schock earlier repaid $40,000 for controversial redecorating work he had done on his Capitol Hill office. He admitted no wrongdoing in his resignation statement, saying only that the constant questions were a “great distraction.” Schock was in his fourth term in the House.

Those who follow such matters told the Chicago Tribune that one of the biggest problems Schock faces is explaining to federal authorities why there is a discrepancy in the miles driven and miles paid.

Erroneous billing for mileage is easily proved, hard to refute, and a wrong that a jury can easily understand, said Paul Rothstein, a Georgetown University law professor who specializes in public corruption cases.

“There aren’t a lot of legal or factual ambiguities about it,” Rothstein said. “It’s not susceptible to saying it was an unintentional, accidental mistake.”

Charles Tiefer, former acting general counsel for the U.S. House, praised Schock for repaying the money. “It’s not an admission of guilt, but it shows a desire to obey the law as much as you can,” Tiefer said. “Always a good idea.”

Over the years, automobiles and mileage reimbursement have been ripe for abuse by lawmakers, in part, because the records are seldom scrutinized.

The late Representative Dan Rostenkowski, a Democratic power broker from Chicago, was indicted in 1994 for multiple crimes, some based on personal use of autos paid for by taxpayers and by his campaign. Rostenkowski ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud for misuse of public funds to buy gifts and to pay employees who did little or no official work.

The Federal Election Commission in 2008 found that Representative Gregory Meeks (D-NY), improperly used $9,812 in campaign funds for vehicle lease payments and repairs that were personal expenses.

Meeks admitted violating federal elections laws, paid a $63,000 penalty and refunded to his campaign committee money used for personal expenses, which also included $6,230 for a personal trainer.
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Dr. Richard Schock told the Tribune on Thursday that the news media have been “like cockroaches” and have unfairly attacked his son, whom he called brilliant, conservative, and moral.

Asked about the apparent overcharging for mileage, Dr. Schock replied, “I have no idea what that’s about. I didn’t keep the books. He’ll have to explain that to whoever he has to explain it to.”

According to House rules, representatives who use a privately owned vehicle for “official and representational business” can be reimbursed for transportation costs. They are reimbursed on a rate-per-mile basis. During the time Aaron Schock owned the Tahoe the maximum rates ranged from 50 to 56.5 cents per mile.

Schock was first elected to Congress in 2008 to represent the Peoria and Springfield areas. The following year, in November 2009, he bought a black 2010 Chevrolet Tahoe from Green Chevrolet in Peoria, according to Illinois secretary of state records.

The vehicle apparently served him well.

On July 19, 2014, Schock was back at Green Chevrolet. He got a new 2015 Tahoe, black, just like the old one, which he traded in. In what experts called an uncommon move, his campaign paid for the vehicle, according to records. Records show Schock’s campaign paid $74,000 for the SUV.

Federal and state law require the owner report the mileage when transferring ownership. Failing to disclose the true mileage can result in fines or criminal charges. Schock’s 2010 Tahoe, according to records, had 81,860 miles on it.

A week later, Schock’s father bought the used Tahoe from the dealership. Dr. Schock said he paid “28,000 something” for it.

Dr. Schock said he did not buy the used Tahoe directly from his son because he was unaware his son was getting rid of it. Dr. Schock said that when his son picked him up for church, that’s when he learned that his son bought a new car.

Why didn’t the congressman keep the old Tahoe? “He said it had too many miles on it,” Dr. Schock recalled.

The owner of the car dealership, Jeff Green, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Green has contributed to Schock’s political campaigns, giving him more than $12,000 since 2008. Green’s name recently surfaced in news accounts about him flying the congressman around on his private plane. In addition, associates of both men said, Green often flew the congressman around Illinois in a helicopter that Green owns.

Schock also bought property from Green that was financed under terms that have raised questions.

Local tax and county land records obtained by the Peoria Journal Star and reviewed by The Associated Press show that a company managed by Schock paid $300,000 last May to buy a commercial property owned by Green, who retained a larger parcel next door. The lawmaker then signed a mortgage application with a local Peoria bank for twice the sale price.

A spokesman for Schock declined to comment about the 2014 land deal.

Questions about how Schock paid for his jet-setting lifestyle have swirled around him for years.

Under federal election laws, expenditures are legal as long as they are used for a political or campaign purpose. The FEC is charged with examining campaign finance reports to determine if the expenses are allowed but has been criticized for lax oversight and has not audited a campaign committee since 2012. However, a complaint can trigger an audit.

However, a complaint can trigger an audit.

The FEC has confirmed it is reviewing a new complaint filed against Schock by the liberal-leaning watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

The group in 2012 complained about Schock spending $1,136 at a luxury hotel in Greece. Schock paid his campaign back, acknowledging that the hotel bill was not a campaign expense.

The Tribune in 2013 reported that Schock was one of the Illinois delegation’s heaviest spenders on meals and travel. His campaign spent more than $2,600 on cuff links, paid $390 to a seaplane company based in the British Virgin Islands and spent more than $1,500 on concert tickets.

Despite questions raised about his spending, Schock’s penchant for travel did not taper off.

The Tribune recently found that from 2012 to 2014, campaign money spent for travel, including private planes, commercial airfare, stays at luxury hotels, and limousine service, nearly doubled.

All told, from 2008 through 2014, more than $500,000 was spent on travel for Schock and others, according to his publicly filed campaign financial reports. That does not include other travel expenses billed to his taxpayer-funded congressional account. Schock spent freely from both his congressional office budget and his campaign funds. His troubles appear to stem from both.

Nearly half of the money went toward hotel stays at places such as Miami’s high-end Fontainebleau resort and the Bohemian Club in Northern California, which Vanity Fair magazine described as an “ultra-exclusive” club for “America’s richest, most conservative men.”

Another $156,000 was spent on private airport access and chartered flights on top of $117,000 for commercial airfare.

Over the past two years, all of the travel charges were paid directly through the campaign accounts, rather than being reimbursed to Schock, and could have covered expenses for guests at fundraising events or other official business. When the Tribune earlier this month chronicled the adventures of the globe-trotting congressman, his aides declined to explain whether his trips — from the Greek Isles to the glaciers of Patagonia — were for business purposes or recreational.

Schock earned a reputation for being a gifted fundraiser and amassed a political fund that campaign finance experts say was unusual given that he was a shoo-in for re-election in a bedrock Republican district. He’s leaving office with more than three million in his campaign fund.

Under federal law, Schock cannot keep the money for himself. He may give it to the Republican Party, other candidates, and charities, or use it to pay legal bills that might arise from investigations into his spending practices. He also could let the money sit there in the event someday he returns to politics.

Most of Schock’s political donations were spent through his official Schock for Congress campaign fund. That fund, governed by stricter rules than his other political committees, would likely be “subject to more scrutiny” from investigators, said Brett Kappel, a Washington lawyer who specializes in campaign finance law.

Kappel also said having a car bought by the campaign can present another set of problems.

“If you have a campaign car and you’re using it for personal use, you have to keep a log and reimburse the campaign,” Kappel said.

Records show that as of the end of 2014, Schock had not made any direct payments to any of his funds for personal use of the 2015 Tahoe.

Kappel said the ironclad rule is “a congressman can’t take campaign funds and convert them to personal use.

“For people who get caught up in these drip, drip, drip scandals, it’s not a comfortable place to be in,” he said. “There’s also the prospect of the other shoe — or more shoes dropping.”

Photo: Nancy Stone via Chicago Tribune/TNS

Endorse This: Gee, Thanks Dad!

Endorse This: Gee, Thanks Dad!

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Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) is resigning in the face of a mounting expenses scandal, but at least his father is standing by him — sort of.

Click above to watch Schock’s dad explain that his son is a good man who just made some mistakes, and will soon succeed once again — if he doesn’t go to jail, that is — then share this video!

Video via WLS-TV Chicago.

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Rep. Aaron Schock’s Problems Could Follow Him After He Quits Congress

Rep. Aaron Schock’s Problems Could Follow Him After He Quits Congress

By Katherine Skiba and Todd Lighty, Chicago Tribune (TNS)

WASHINGTON — Rep. Aaron Schock’s resignation after six weeks of intense scrutiny over spending, travel and real estate deals marked a stunning fall for a politician once seen as a rising young voice in Congress.

“It seemed like he was going to be a new, younger face in the political scene, and it was disappointing to see,” said Angela Loring, 38, a teacher interviewed outside a Peoria grocery store in his congressional district.

Schock, 33, of Illinois, the first member of Congress born in the 1980s, said Tuesday he will step down March 31. He was in his fourth term in the House of Representatives, having served since 2009.

The Republican, whose conduct has been the subject of investigations by several news organizations, admitted no wrongdoing in his resignation statement, saying only that the constant questions were a “great distraction.”

Once he steps down, Schock no longer will come under the jurisdiction of congressional ethics investigators. However, legal observers said the recent issues that have dogged Schock ever since The Washington Post on Feb. 2 wrote about his $40,000 Downton Abbey office decor could follow him into his post congressional life.

A Capitol Hill source said lawyers at the Justice Department’s public integrity section, the Federal Election Commission, or state or federal prosecutors in Illinois still could examine the allegations leveled against Schock to determine if he violated the law. The source spoke on condition of anonymity.

Charles Tiefer, a Democrat and former acting-general counsel of the House, said Schock’s lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-famous ways were to blame for his downfall.

“The vast majority of congressmen know better than to engage in flamboyant expenditures and activities which are, at best, in the gray area of the law,” said Tiefer, who teaches at the University of Baltimore Law School.

Schock easily won re-election in November, but the spate of recent media reports quickly led to rumors he would resign. Still, just a week ago, according to a story in The Peoria Journal Star, Schock said, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Senator Dick Durbin, the assistant Senate Democratic leader from Illinois, said Tuesday he was surprised by Schock’s resignation and suggested the move “reflects the gravity of his situation.”

“The allegations against Congressman Schock are serious, raising questions about his expenditure of official funds and campaign funds,” Durbin said in a statement.

Schock did not return messages left Tuesday on his cell phone.

The Post’s Feb. 2 story on Schock’s office redo might have been a flash in the pan, except that his aides tried to quash the story and asked a reporter to delete photos he’d taken. Aides initially said the interior designer had offered her services for free but that he had to pay for furnishings.

House ethics rules generally prohibit members of Congress from accepting gifts or services worth more than $50. Not long after a watchdog group asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to look into the matter, Schock repaid $40,000 from his personal checking account for the redecorating work, The Associated Press reported.

By then reporters and others were combing through Schock’s financial dealings and his Instagram account to document his travel and expenses.

Schock visited at least nine foreign countries since the start of 2014, sometimes on government business and sometimes for pleasure, a Tribune review found. In addition to allegations that he did not properly account for foreign travel, Schock is accused of not conforming to requirements on the use of private aircraft.

The Associated Press on Feb. 23 reported that Schock spent more than $40,000 to fly on private jets owned by some of his political donors. The wire service had examined travel expenses, flight records and location data on Schock’s Instagram account.

Ethics rules changed in January 2013 to permit members of Congress to pay for private airfare with tax dollars as long as they pay their share of the cost. But the AP found that Schock paid for most of his private flights with public dollars before the rule changed. It could not be determined whether Schock paid his share of the flights after the 2013 rule change.

The media outlet Politico on Feb. 24 questioned why Schock had not reported in his annual financial disclosure statement a ten-day trip he took in March 2011 to Saudi Arabia. The country’s antiquities and tourism commission paid for the trip.

Politico also found that the congressman had “attended dinner and drinks in 2011 at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and at a swank nightclub London — and never disclosed receiving a single gift on his financial disclosure form.”

Schock was in London at the time for the prestigious Royal Ascot races.

The Sun-Times reported March 2 that Schock had billed taxpayers for a private plane ride to Chicago for a Bears game. Schock quickly repaid the government $1,237 for the trip.

At a news conference March 6 in Peoria, Schock told reporters that at times he has made mistakes.

“I know that when I take a trip, and I post photos online, it can create the misimpression of being out of touch, or an image that is not worthy of my constituents,” he said. “I have tried to balance being a young congressman and doing things differently and more open with maintaining a level of seriousness on the issues of the day. I know some days I have failed at this.”

Still, there was no let-up for Schock.

The Associated Press on Friday reported that Schock “built much of his personal wealth” through real estate deals with political donors. A lawmaker can do business with donors as long as the terms are “commercially reasonable.”

News outlets more recently were digging into Schock receiving thousands of taxpayer dollars for mileage reimbursement.

In late February, Schock enlisted two veteran Washington lawyers for an internal review of his office and political operation. Neither responded Tuesday to Tribune questions on the status of that review. Nor did two veteran GOP political operatives Schock just brought on.

A precocious politician, Schock had won a seat on the local school board when he was 19 and was elected president three years later. He subsequently won a seat in the state House. Schock was just 27 when he succeeded retiring Rep. Ray LaHood.

LaHood, whose son, Darin, a state senator, is believed to be interested in the congressional seat — which will now be up for grabs in a special election — said in an interview that he had unsuccessfully tried to phone Schock on Tuesday.

“Personally, I’m very sad,” said Ray LaHood, who held the congressional seat for 14 years.

The district includes Peoria and the Springfield area, bedrock GOP turf that has been represented by a Republican in Congress since 1917.

Schock never fit the mold of the reserved Midwestern congressman, driving home that point recently when he told a TV reporter he has never been a “crusty old white guy.”

Known for his sharp style and good looks. He showed off his six-pack abs on the cover of Men’s Health magazine in 2011 and once was voted the “hottest freshman” by readers of The Huffington Post.

His flashy, in-your-face lifestyle has been well documented long before the latest controversy — frequently by Schock himself on the online photo-sharing site Instagram. He has chronicled his adventures to the Greek Isles and the glaciers of Patagonia. He has surfed the waves off Hawaii, danced the tango in Buenos Aires and parasailed in the Andes.

The Chicago Tribune in 2013 reported that Schock’s campaign spent more than $2,600 on cuff links, paid $390 to a seaplane company based in the British Virgin Islands and spent more than $1,500 on concert tickets. Under federal election laws, the expenditures — disclosed in campaign finance filings to the FEC — are legal as long as they served a political or campaign purpose.

Schock was one of the Illinois delegation’s heaviest spenders on meals and travel.

In Peoria on Tuesday, several constituents expressed dismay at the latest turn of events.

“I’m disappointed in Aaron altogether for taking advantage of the situation,” said Carl Cohen, 77. “And he thought more of himself than the community.”

Ray LaHood, however, said he stands by Schock.

“What I would tell (Schock) is I’m very sorry for the way his congressional career ended and lookit, you find out who your friends are when things like this happen and I’m a friend of Aaron’s and always will be,” LaHood said.

Washington lawyer Kenneth Gross, formerly the associate general counsel at the Federal Election Commission, which handles civil enforcement of campaign-finance rules, said Tuesday that “a number of issues have been raised regarding (Schock’s) handling of campaign funds and office expenditures, but it’s hard to know what constituted a critical mass to cause him to resign.”

One campaign-finance lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that as a general rule, the Justice Department, should it be taking a look at a lawmaker, would not be swayed one way or another by a resignation.

Schock had been under scrutiny in 2012 for allegedly soliciting a $25,000 contribution from a political action committee in excess of legal limits. But that case, before the House Ethics Committee, will go away once Schock’s resignation becomes official.
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Tribune reporter Todd Lighty reported from Chicago. Tribune reporter Jessie Hellmann contributed.

Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock speaks on the panel at the George W. Bush Institute forum at the Art Institute in Chicago in September 2012. Schock resigned Tuesday amid controversy over his spending habits. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune/TNS)

Rep. Aaron Schock Resigning From Congress

Rep. Aaron Schock Resigning From Congress

U.S. Representative and one-time Republican rising star Aaron Schock (R-IL) will resign his seat in Congress.

Schock, a four-term congressman from Illinois’ 18th district, has faced intense scrutiny into his spending after media reports exposed his apparent misuse of campaign funds and taxpayer dollars. The Office of Congressional Ethics was reportedly laying the groundwork for an official investigation when Schock decided to step down.

“Today, I am announcing my resignation as a Member of the United States House of Representatives effective March 31,” Schock said in a statement obtained by Politico. “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.”

“But the constant questions over the last six weeks have proven a great distraction that has made it too difficult for me to serve the people of the 18th District with the high standards that they deserve and which I have set for myself,” the congressman added. “I have always sought to do what’s best for my constituents and I thank them for the opportunity to serve.”

This story has been updated.

Photo: House GOP via Flickr