The ongoing case against Tim Mapes has turned into an autopsy of how the record reign of his former boss, powerful Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, began to fall apart.
Tim Mapes, former chief of staff to House Speaker Michael Madigan, arrives at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Aug. 9, 2023.
Over seven days of testimony, prosecutors rolled out dozens of secretly recorded phone calls, internal emails and other documents collected as part of the massive federal investigation into Madigan and his vaunted political operation. Proving that someone is lying about not remembering something can be difficult. But this has been far from the typical perjury case. To win an acquittal, Mapes will likely have to explain why he told the grand jury he was unaware of what was happening inside the Madigan operations after the speaker told him to resign on June 6, 2018, in the wake of #MeToo allegations.
The government’s evidence clearly showed Mapes worked with McClain to help organize political fund-raising, committee assignments for House lawmakers and intricate advice for the speaker and his staff, once even sending a 14-point memo of items to address going into the new 2019 legislative session. It could be a high bar to get over because the government tapped into several members of Madigan’s inner circle who, from the witness stand, helped the prosecution build a hard-to-penetrate case.Several in that lineup of top Madigan advisers — including political gurus Tom Cullen and Will Cousineau, two former staffers turned lobbyists — came to court with “nontarget” letters that gave assurances that prosecutors did not have them in their sights as long as they told the truth.
Madigan ousted Quinn, the brother of Madigan’s hand-picked 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn, but a clamor in Springfield erupted over how Madigan would address mistreatment of women. Within days, a former-staffer-turned-lobbyist was booted from Madigan’s political organization. Lang nevertheless declared himself vindicated and hoped to be back on Madigan’s leadership team, a move that never materialized because McClain, on Madigan’s behalf, pushed Lang out of office over fears that more accusations might surface, according to secret phone calls and testimony.
Thanks to a big Democratic election year, Madigan easily won another term as speaker and was riding high politically. Democrat J.B. Pritzker beat Madigan’s archnemesis, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, and the speaker won 74 Democratic seats — the biggest majority in his 36 years at the top of the Illinois House.
At one point, McClain expressed concerns that Madigan’s political organization was flailing so much that it would resemble the “Keystone Cops.” Talking to Mapes a few days later, McClain recounted how he told Madigan that he and his family failed to understand “what Tim did for you.” McClain recapped how he told Madigan that Mapes even handled such minutiae as the speaker’s Christmas cards and dealing with the speaker’s wife, Shirley.
Republican lobbyist Nancy Kimme testified how McClain reached out to her to help make the property transfer happen. Kimme had solid bipartisan credentials, having worked as a top aide for Republican Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka for years and then helping the Rauner administration get up and running when it took office in 2015.
Given that Mapes served for years as the speaker’s gatekeeper, what he had to say in his grand jury testimony has left Capitol power brokers amazed. “I don’t recall exactly,” Mapes said. “I think I got a call from her office, but I don’t — I couldn’t tell you who it was.”Mapes said he remembered only that ComEd had “some reorganization in another state” that they thought he could be helpful with, but that Pramaggiore “never did tell me” which state or provide further details.
The defense is expected to begin presenting its case on Monday, and will call an expert witness who will testify on the faults of human memory. They have also said they want to question Bhachu.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Tim Mapes trial: government expected to restFederal prosecutors are expected to rest their case in chief Friday in the perjury trial of Tim Mapes, the former chief of staff to Democratic Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan accused of lying to a federal grand jury investigating his boss.
Read more »
Michael Jackson Accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck Will Go to Trial over Abuse AllegationsThe California Court of Appeal ruled that Wade Robson and James Safechuck have a legal case that will be tried against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures in the lower courts
Read more »
Michael Jackson accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck going to trial over abuse allegationsAccording to an opinion filed Friday and obtained by Page Six, the deceased pop icon’s companies may be held liable for any alleged misconduct he committed.
Read more »
White Sox's Tim Anderson has suspension reduced to five gamesChicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson had his suspension reduced from six to five games on Thursday after settling with the league before a hearing was needed.
Read more »