Mapes seeks to toss parts of indictment in case linked to Madigan

(The Center Square) – Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s longtime chief of staff has asked a judge to dismiss portions of an indictment accusing him of lying to a grand jury investigating a decade of alleged corruption schemes by his former boss.

Mapes’ attorney, Andrew Porter, asked U.S. Judge John Lee to toss parts of the indictment because of what he claimed were poorly phrased and ambiguous questions asked of Mapes’ during his appearance before the grand jury on March 31, 2021.

Mapes, 66, of Springfield, was indicted in May 2021 on charges of lying to a grand jury in a federal bribery probe connected to Madigan and Michael McClain, a former lawmaker, ComEd lobbyist and Madigan confidante. Mapes, who was granted immunity to testify before the grand jury, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Porter wrote in the motion that of the roughly 650 questions Mapes was asked before a grand jury, prosecutors flagged seven as the basis for the indictment. Porter said the questions were “‘fundamentally ambiguous’ and should be stricken from the indictment.” The motion was filed under seal last week because it contained grand jury testimony, which is supposed to remain secret. The judge unsealed the motion, which was made public Wednesday.

The indictment accuses Mapes of lying when asked about Madigan’s interactions with McClain.

“While the government may point to certain recordings in which Mr. McClain and Mr. Mapes talked after Mr. Mapes’ retirement in 2018, none of those recordings demonstrate that Mr. Mapes was lying on March 31, 2021 when he said he could not recall in response to vague questions about ‘tasks,’ ‘assignments,’ and ‘work’ from two to four years earlier,” Porter wrote in the motion. “Indeed, the government never played those conversations for Mr. Mapes in the grand jury – nor did the government even reference those conversations in an attempt to refresh his memory or to probe his understanding of what Mr. McClain was talking about during those conversations.”

In addition, Porter filed a motion to strike references to Mapes’ immunity deal, arguing that it was irrelevant and prosecutors included it to make Mapes look bad.

“One possible motive for adding such language to the indictment is to send a signal to other witnesses with whom the government was attempting to meet in 2021 concerning its investigation of Mr. Madigan. Indeed, this indictment was returned with remarkable speed – it was less than 60 days from Mr. Mapes’ testimony to the return of an indictment containing specific language about the immunized nature of his testimony,” Porter wrote in a separate motion. “While the government may have a motive to publicize to other potential witnesses the weapons at its disposal, the fact of immunization has no relevance to the charges against Mr. Mapes.”

Prosecutors have until May 3 to respond to the defense motions. The next status hearing is set for 9 a.m. June 1.

Mapes served as Madigan’s chief of staff, clerk of the House and the executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Mapes was let go from those positions under Madigan in 2018 after public allegations of sexual harassment. An inspector general report in 2019 said Mapes should not be allowed to work for the state government again.

In March, federal prosecutors charged Madigan, 79, with 22 counts of corruption, including bribery, fraud and racketeering. Madigan was one of Illinois’ most powerful politicians. Until 2021, he controlled what legislation moved through the Illinois House as speaker and the finances of the Democratic Party of Illinois as chairman of the party.

If convicted of the most serious felony charges, Madigan could face up to 20 years in prison.

The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of $2.8 million in alleged illegal profits from Madigan.

The charges stem from Madigan’s and McClain’s dealings with the state’s largest utility, ComEd, along with other businesses that had wanted to influence legislation in Springfield. ComEd is the only company identified by name in the indictment.

In 2020, federal prosecutors and Exelon subsidiary ComEd reached a deferred prosecution agreement. As part of the agreement, the utility admitted it paid $1.3 million in jobs and contracts to associates of Madigan over nine years to influence the former House speaker. ComEd agreed to pay a $200 million fine. A former ComEd official, Fidel Marquez, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in September 2020.

Prosecutors also allege that former Chicago Ald. Danny Solis agreed to help steer business to Madigan’s personal law firm, Madigan & Getzendanner, which specializes in challenging property tax bills for its clients. In exchange, prosecutors claim Madigan agreed to ask Gov. J.B. Pritzker to appoint Solis to a state board position that would pay $93,926 a year after Solis retired from the Chicago City Council. Solis is referred to as Alderman A throughout the indictment

Both Madigan and McClain have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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