DoJ Digs Into 'Downton' Rep: Source

FBI said to be issuing subpoenas as criminal investigation heats up
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 20, 2015 11:08 AM CDT
DoJ Digs Into ' Downton ' Rep: Source
This March 6, 2014, photo, shows Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., looking out at reporters during a news conference in Peoria   (AP Photo/Peoria Journal Star, Ron Johnson)

Rep. Aaron Schock may have thought he could simply disappear into the Illinois sunset after resigning his House seat on Tuesday, but it looks like his troubles are far from over. A source familiar with the case but speaking on condition of anonymity tells the AP that the Justice Department has started a formal criminal investigation into the 33-year-old rep's allegedly illegal campaign expenses, adding that the FBI has been issuing subpoenas to those close to the Republican.

A grand jury is being convened in Springfield, Ill. Per CNN, the investigation will look at whether Schock improperly accounted for spending on everything from travel to a Downton Abbey-decorated office. The jury will reportedly start listening to testimony next month. The Office of Congressional Ethics had started poking around the Schock case, but once he resigned, that scrutiny would likely end, Politico points out. Not true of a criminal investigation—those leading it wouldn't care if Schock is a current rep or not, the site notes. (More Aaron Schock stories.)

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