Aug. 26--Ex-Rep. Aaron Schock has given 10,730 financial records to the U.S. government to comply with a subpoena, according to a court filing Wednesday.
His lawyers are also offering a judge the chance to review 2,944 other records that may contain references to financial transactions, the filing said.
Schock's lawyers, in the filing, asked that a prosecutor's contempt of court motion -- which could have resulted in the former Republican lawmaker being fined or jailed for not complying with the subpoena -- be dropped.
The records, which were in Schock's possession, relate to campaign and political entities, the filing said.
As for the 2,944 outstanding documents, lawyers for Schock said they are not responsive to the subpoena but suggested the judge could review them in chambers, not in open court, because they "may contain references to financial transactions."
The development came amid a 5-month-old battle over what documents the ex-lawmaker, who is the target of a federal probe, must turn over to authorities. A hearing is planned Friday afternoon in federal court in Springfield on the issue.
There remains an outstanding subpoena to the House of Representatives for Schock's congressional records, and that matter is still being litigated, Wednesday's filing said.
Schock was subpoenaed the day he quit Congress, March 31, and prosecutors have sought a slew of financial and travel records from him.
Defense attorneys, citing constitutional protections, earlier sought to limit what Schock must produce.
In a letter Tuesday to the lead prosecutor, one defense attorney pointed out that certain documents were "redacted or withheld based on the attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine."
The letter underscored a key point: The battle for Schock's records is not over. Still being litigated is which of Schock's congressional records must be turned over in light of a separate subpoena to the House.
The legal tug-of-war, which came to light only last month, comes as a grand jury in the Illinois capital has been secretly hearing testimony about Schock since April.
Schock, 34, entered Congress in 2009 and abruptly left this year amid a barrage of unflattering reports about his campaign and office spending and far-flung travel. The grand jury subpoena sought records from him dating to 2010.
Earlier a prosecutor asked that Schock be held in contempt and fined $5,000 a day -- and potentially jailed -- for his failure to produce congressional and campaign records. The FBI also seized a trove of materials in June from Schock's Peoria campaign office.
He is not expected in court Friday.
kskiba@tribpub.com
