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Federal prosecutors have countered a claim by Schock's legal team that investigators asked inappropriate questions when probing whether the politician misused funds.
Federal prosecutors have filed a court document denying they or the FBI made inquiries into former Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock's sex life when investigating whether he misused government and campaign funds.
Lawyers for Schock, who has been indicted on charges of diverting these funds for personal use, said in August that investigators asked inappropriate questions, including whether Schock is gay. The politician has been the subject of gay rumors, which he has always denied. The questions, his legal team contended in a court filing, were so far out of bounds that the case against him should be dismissed.
But late Friday prosecutors responded with their own filing, saying no such questions were asked, Politico reports.
"We fully agree with Defendant Schock that his sexuality is completely irrelevant in this criminal matter," prosecutors Timothy Bass and Eugene Miller wrote in the document, filed federal court in Urbana, Ill. "It was not of interest to the government, and the government did not inquire about it." However, some witnesses brought it up, according to Bass and Miller.
"Out of the approximately 116 witness interview reports during the investigation and since the indictment, only 4 contain any references to Defendant Schock's sexuality, and those references were initiated by the witness, not by the government," they wrote. "Defendant Schock's attempts to attribute misconduct on the part of the government based on an issue that he himself admits pre-dated the grand jury investigation is simply meritless."
They did say investigators inquired into the nature of Schock's relationship with Panamanian diplomat Karla Gonzalez in order to determine whether expenses for trips they took together, charged to Schock's government credit card, were for legitimate business. "At no time, however, did the government ask any of the more than 100 witnesses in this nearly 20-month investigation, inside or outside of the grand jury, about Defendant Schock's 'sexuality' or who he 'slept with,'" the prosecutors wrote.
Schock, who faces 24 felony counts, was indicted last November after the FBI investigated his use of campaign funds and his congressional expense allowance. "The indictment alleges Schock illegally pocketed tens of thousands of dollars in improper mileage reimbursements, camera equipment, and proceeds from selling tickets to the World Series and Super Bowl," Politico notes. Schock has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He resigned from office in March 2015.
