Deal hit in ex-lawmaker's graft case
CHICAGO -- Federal prosecutors agreed Wednesday to drop all felony corruption charges against former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock if he pays tens of thousands of dollars to the IRS and his campaign committees, a move the Illinois Republican said proved that he was targeted by a prosecutor looking for "stardom."
Schock, a one-time rising GOP star, resigned from Congress in 2015 amid scrutiny of his spending, including decorating his office in the style of the Downton Abbey TV series. He faced up to 20 years in prison when he was indicted a year later on two dozen counts, including wire fraud and falsification of election commission filings.
During a court hearing, prosecutors said they will drop the charges within six months if Schock holds up his part of the agreement. Prosecutors filed one misdemeanor count against one of Schock's campaign committees, alleging improper record keeping. The committee, Schock for Congress, pleaded guilty Wednesday through an official and was fined about $26,000.
The 37-year-old said he will repay his three campaign committees nearly $68,000 and work with the Internal Revenue Service to determine how much he owes in taxes for income he didn't report between 2010 and 2015.
Pair plead guilty in GoFundMe scheme
CAMDEN, N.J. -- A homeless man and a New Jersey woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges in a GoFundMe scheme that prosecutors said netted $400,000 with a phony story about him going to her aid.
Johnny Bobbitt, 36, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, and Katelyn McClure, 28, of Bordentown, N.J., pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Prosecutors said Bobbitt conspired with McClure and her then-boyfriend Mark D'Amico to make up a story in 2017 about Bobbitt giving McClure cash for gas when she was stranded along a Philadelphia highway.
The scheme raised $400,000, which the couple claimed would be donated to Bobbitt. Instead, New Jersey authorities said, the three split the money and spent lavishly, including on a car, designer bags, and trips to Las Vegas, Disneyland, Disney World, the Grand Canyon and New York City. GoFundMe said it has refunded all of the donations.
Their relationship soured, though, when Bobbitt sued the couple over what he said was their failure to turn money over to him.
All three still face charges in state court.
2nd judge rejects census citizen query
SAN FRANCISCO -- A second federal judge rejected the Trump administration's decision to ask people about their citizenship on the 2020 Census, saying it "threatens the very foundation of our democratic system."
The ruling, by U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco, is similar to a recent decision by District Judge Jesse Furman in New York, who also concluded that adding the query -- "Is this person a citizen of the United States?" -- to the decennial questionnaire would violate federal law.
The Census Bureau has said it needs to start printing questionnaires by June.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the administration's expedited appeal of the New York ruling on April 23. If Seeborg's decision follows the same short path to the high court, it potentially makes for another argument against adding the question to the census.
While Furman's ruling also found that the question violated administrative requirements, he rejected an argument that it violated the Constitution. Seeborg found a constitutional violation, which could present another issue for the Supreme Court to consider.
U.S. plans to lift gray wolf protections
BILLINGS, Mont. -- U.S. wildlife officials plan to lift protections on gray wolves across the Lower 48 states, reigniting the legal battle over a predator that's run into conflicts with farmers and ranchers after its numbers rebounded in some regions, an official said.
Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced the proposal during a Wednesday speech at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Denver, a weeklong conservation forum for researchers, government officials and others, U.S. Fish and Wildlife spokesman Gavin Shire said.
Wildlife advocates reacted with anger and promised to challenge in court any attempt to lift protections. Agriculture groups and lawmakers from Western states are likely to support the administration's proposal.
The wolves were shot, trapped and poisoned out of existence in most of the U.S. by the mid-20th century. They received endangered species protections in 1975, when there were about 1,000 left only in northern Minnesota. Now more than 5,000 of the animals live in the contiguous U.S.
A Section on 03/07/2019