* Tribune…
Prosecutors in the historic corruption trial of former House Speaker Michael Madigan on Wednesday attacked the credibility of the defense’s star witness: Madigan himself.
“What you heard on the witness stand was a facade,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz said during more than 2 ½ hours of the prosecution’s closing argument, taking the jury through some of the more damaging wiretapped recordings and emails that she said repeatedly showed Madigan was in on schemes to enrich himself and enhance his power.
Despite his repeated and rigorous denials from the witness stand this month, Schwartz said Madigan, the most powerful politician in the state and head of the Democratic Party of Illinois, knew full well that ComEd was secretly funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to some of his top associates in a bid to influence him on the utility giant’s legislation.
Schwartz said Madigan wasn’t just involved in the scheme, and he was not just looped in by his co-defendant Michael McClain. He was steering the whole thing.
* Tribune reporter Jason Meisner…
* Courthouse News Service…
“Power and profit. That’s what drove Madigan, with the help of McClain, to break the law,” Schwartz told the jury. […]
Schwartz focused on ComEd on Wednesday, walking jurors through multiple emails, secretly recorded phone conversations and secretly-taped videos she says demonstrated Madigan knowingly maintained a this-for-that arrangement with the energy company.
The government claims five subcontractors — Chicago political workers Ed Moody and Ray Nice, former Democratic state representative Eddie Acevedo and former Chicago aldermen Frank Olivo and Mike Zalewski Sr. — were paid about $1.3 million collectively between 2011 and 2019 from law and lobbying firms that contracted with ComEd and were operated by Madigan associates. Despite receiving the payments, the government claims the five men did little to no actual work benefitting ComEd in that time.
“They were ghosts. This whole arrangement was a sham,” Schwartz said of the ComEd subcontractors, claiming they were meant only to secure Madigan’s favor as speaker. […]
Schwartz also touched on ComEd’s contracts with the law firm Reyes Kurson, of which Madigan’s associate Victor Reyes is a partner. Reyes Kurson inked a contract with ComEd in late 2011, and the energy company renewed the contract in 2016. The Illinois legislature passed two major bills benefitting ComEd and its parent company Exelon in that time, the so-called Smart Grid bill in 2011 and the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016.
* Sun-Times Federal Courts Reporter Jon Seidel…
* Sun-Times…
After jurors left the courtroom to head home Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu told U.S. District Judge John Blakey that the feds’ initial closing argument would likely continue through the end of the day Thursday.
In an unusual move, that initial argument will be handled by two prosecutors. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur is expected to take the baton from Schwartz at some point Thursday.
When Schwartz and MacArthur are done, jurors will hear from attorneys for Madigan and then McClain. But prosecutors have the burden of proof, so they will also make a rebuttal argument — giving them the last word. […]
Before Schwartz’s argument began Wednesday, Blakey spent two hours instructing jurors on the law in the case. In doing so, he told them how they should define the word “corruptly.” It’s a controversial question in the case, tied to U.S. Supreme Court arguments last spring.
- Red headed step child - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 9:45 am:
Mike going down…legacy tarnished
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 9:56 am:
100+ pages of jury instructions. And a higher bar for corrupt intent than the ComEd four case. That’s a lot for the jury to sort through. I don’t envy them.
- Payback - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 10:21 am:
I almost feel sorry for Mike and Mike. I can’t see how the federal authorities charged him with RICO offenses in the first place. This is not Al Capone, there are no dead bodies here. If I was on the jury, I’d be considering the law as well as the charges.
I’m intersted to see who the new nominee for U.S. Attorney will be in the northern district. Pasqual has not impressed me.
- Roman - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 10:21 am:
Don’t sense a lot of suspense here. A guilty verdict of some kind is an overwhelming favorite. The only mystery might be whether the ambiguity of the Supreme Court’s Snyder and McDonnell decisions raises legal questions that are substantive enough to keep Madigan out of prison while the appeal is pending.
- Donnie Elgin - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 10:33 am:
=Don’t sense a lot of suspense here. A guilty verdict of some kind is an overwhelming favorite=
Knowing that his time is short, gives solace to all those of us who were the voice of opposition to MJM’s corruption; especially those directly impacted by his lack of leadership such as Alaina Hampton.
- Anyone Remember - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 10:34 am:
IF SCOUTS continues down the McDonnell / Snyder path (which I strongly disagree with), “The only mystery … [.]” is how strong the SCOTUS rejection notice will be. Unless they decide McDonnell / Snyder path is a “bridge too far” … .
- low level - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 11:15 am:
Juries are not looking favorably on politicians these days. Regardless of the jury instructions, I expect a guilty verdict.
- Bugsy - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 11:17 am:
I am sure Madigan Never thought these unpaid ComEd “Ghost” Contractors..Moody,Nice,Zalewski,and Olivo would ever be exposed. It seems the Feds interest all started when the Feds seen monies going to fired Madigan Aide Kevin Quinn by Springfield Lobbyists…from there it just exponentially escalated. All the same. . I’m thinking the Ghost Contractors at ComEd seals the case for the Feds. The Velvet Hammer got sloppy and so did his advisors and inner circle.
- Retired SURS Employee - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 11:18 am:
Although I expect a guilty verdict, I wouldn’t be surprised by a hung jury.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 11:21 am:
===I’m thinking the Ghost Contractors at ComEd seals the case for the Feds.===
I think the Solis stuff is easier for the jurors to grasp.
- Flyin'Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 11:27 am:
One of my post-retirement gigs was working as a bailiff.
I worked a number of criminal cases-major felonies and lesser ones.
Jurors come from all walks of life, economic, educational, gender and age.
If there is one constant, it’s KISS. After days of testimony and cross even the most astute jurors not well versed in law get confused and frustrated…
real quick.
- New Day - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 11:31 am:
“I think the Solis stuff is easier for the jurors to grasp.”
100%. I expect a mixed verdict with some of the ComEd stuff rejected either by the jury or by the appeals court. But the Solis stuff is crystal clear quid pro quo and Madigan will go down for it.
- Roman - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 11:56 am:
== “The only mystery … [.]” is how strong the SCOTUS rejection notice will be. ==
You might be right. Governor McDonnell and Mayor Snyder were cleared by the Supreme Court despite directly and personally benefiting financially from their schemes. Madigan is not alleged to have done that in the ComEd and AT&T counts. However, he is alleged to have personally benefited in the counts related to his law firm seeking business through Solis.
Based on the permissive McDonnell and Snyder standards, it seems like the ComEd/AT&T counts are far from what the Supremes would consider illegal and even the Solis-related counts are on shaky ground. However, we have RICO in the mix with Madigan, which has a much lower bar to clear for conviction and I imagine makes an appeal less likely to prevail.
My simple non-lawyer view is what McDonnell and Snyder did and what Madigan is alleged to have done in the Solis-related counts, should be illegal. The Supreme Court thinks otherwise on McDonnell and Snyder. We‘ll see on Madigan.
- low level - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 12:04 pm:
== If there is one constant, it’s KISS. After days of testimony and cross even the most astute jurors==
Exactly. They tend to say the heck with it and vote to convict so long as the government seems like it knows what it is talking about. They dont get into the details which give them headaches.
- Mr Burrito - Thursday, Jan 23, 25 @ 12:43 pm:
The simple notion that both ComEd and AT&T had to pay millions in penalty fees is an indirect proof that MJM was behind it all. And for sure they were willing participants in this “pay to play.” What useful was it for MJM not to own a cell for 20 + years if this this technique not to get caught failed —thanks to Solis.