Disgraced Rep. Aaron Schock’s (R-IL) father said Wednesday that he believes his son will emerge unscathed from the storm of ethical and legal problems plaguing him — unless he winds up in jail.
“If they’re going to convict him on paperwork, they’re going to convict him. That’s their privilege,” Dr. Richard Schock told Chicago TV station WLS. “If it’s the law, and he broke the law and they want to convict him on that — fine.”
The congressman announced Tuesday that he would resign effective March 31. He cited weeks of media inquiries into his finances as “a great distraction that has made it too difficult for me to serve the people of the 18th District with the high standards that they deserve and which I have set for myself.”
The congressman’s father told the news station that he himself had been audited by the IRS several times, so he knew something of what his son was going through. He then suggested his son may have broken the law with respect to mileage reimbursement.
“I don’t know what they have on him. I know that it’s hard to keep records,” Schock said. “I’m a doctor. I take mileage deductions. I don’t keep mileage records on every mile I drive to the nursing homes and to the hospitals, etc. I know its a law — so yeah, he’s broke the law.”
Politico reported that the congressman’s resignation came in response to its inquiries into tens of thousands of dollars in mileage reimbursements he received for his personal car.
Schock told WLS that he didn’t think the fallout from mounting financial scandals would dog his son into the future. But even as he voiced that sentiment, he caught himself.
“Two years from now he’ll be successful — if he’s not in jail,” Schock said.
A reporter asked the doctor if he was saying that his son was headed for legal trouble.
“Could be. I don’t know,” Schock said, adding that it was up to the Justice Department to decide his son’s fate.
Watch below via WLS:
