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Schock Denies 'Intentional' Wrongdoing

Aaron Schock
Cass Herrington
/
WCBU

Former Congressman Aaron Schock has been hit with a federal indictment alleging abuse of  power and illegal campaign spending.

The former 18th district congressman resigned in March 2015 amid allegations of financial mismanagement. He held a news conference Thursday with his attorneys, before anything had been filed. Schock said the 24-count indictment is manufactured by the justice department.

“I intend to not only fight to prove these allegations false, but in the process, expose this investigation for what it was. Neither I nor anyone intentionally did anything wrong,” Schock said.

Schock’s defense team is calling the indictment politically motivated but did not clarify what that meant. Attorney George Terwilliger called the allegations “made-up.”

“Criminalizing a handful of administrative mistakes, a few of the thousands of transactions from Aaron’s six years in office. To charge Mr. Schock two days after a national election, has all the appearances of a politically-calculated ambush,” said Terwilliger.

The indictment comes two days after a presidential election that will seat a Republican in White House. U-S Attorney Jim Lewis, a Democratic appointee is retiring at the end of the year. Schock also agreed to pay a $10,000 Federal Election Commission fine for a campaign finance violation last month.

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