Nov. 05---- A second subpoena has been issued to former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock amid a legal fight over what financial records, texts and emails he must turn over as part of an ongoing federal grand jury probe.
The new subpoena, which is under seal, was disclosed in a court filing Wednesday.
Schock, 34, quit Congress on March 31 amid questions about how he spent his office allowance and campaign cash. An array of spending is under scrutiny: excessive reimbursements for auto mileage, the "Downton Abbey"-style redo of his Capitol Hill office, travel on private aircraft and unreported trips abroad.
The Peoria Republican has turned over thousands of documents, but a judge is reviewing others in chambers as his lawyers argue that attorney-client privilege and other legal grounds should keep them out of prosecutors' hands.
The first subpoena demanded campaign and congressional records, including travel and reimbursement records, dating to 2010. Schock was subpoenaed in Peoria the day he left office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Bass said in the new filing that the government has obtained some of the documents withheld from prosecutors from third parties. He argued that others, involving Schock's former chief of staff, his executive assistant and possibly his sister, are not privileged.
The sister is not named in the filing, but Schock's sister Tania Hoerr had been his campaign manager.
Explaining the second subpoena, Bass says in the filing: "If the grand jury has some information on a subject, it may seek more to confirm or contradict what it has. How much information is 'enough' is a matter for the judgment of the grand jurors and the prosecutors rather than the courts."
Mark Hubbard, a spokesman for McGuireWoods, the Washington, D.C., law firm representing Schock, said Thursday that attorneys are doing their "best to respond to a vague subpoena."
"We have produced over 10,000 records and offered more than 2,000 others for the court to determine if they are necessary for compliance," Hubbard said. "We consider this to be clearly responsive, transparent and cooperative."
The grand jury is meeting in Springfield, and the issue is before U.S. District Court Judge Sue Myerscough. Schock's counsel has until Nov. 18 to respond to the new filing.
kskiba@tribpub.com
