The jury in the perjury trial of longtime Democratic insider Tim Mapes will start its first full day of deliberations Thursday, weighing whether the longtime aide to former Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan lied to a federal grand jury to protect his boss.
The jury of six men and six women was sent back at 4:35 p.m. Wednesday after hearing about five hours of closing arguments, but sent U.S. District Judge John Kness a note a few minutes later requesting to go home for the day.
The panel is scheduled to resume talks at 9 a.m.
Mapes, 68, of Springfield, is charged with perjury and attempted obstruction of justice in an indictment accusing him of repeatedly lying during his appearance before the grand jury investigating Madigan and his vaunted political operation.
He faces up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction count, while the perjury charges carry up to five years behind bars.
[ Former top Michael Madigan aide on trial: What you need to know — and what’s next for Tim Mapes ]
Though the charges are fairly straightforward, the trial has been filled with political intrigue surrounding the decline of Madigan’s decades-long grip on power, including testimony about the #MeToo-era sexual harassment scandal that consumed the speaker’s office and led to Mapes’ abrupt ouster in June 2018.
In her closing argument Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz told the jury that Mapes, who had served as Madigan’s chief of staff for more than 25 years, was an insider “who was behind the curtain” of Madigan’s often-secretive political organization, and could have given the grand jury key insight when he testified under a grant of immunity on March 31, 2021.
Many of the allegedly misleading statements had to do with Mapes’ failure to recollect anything about Madigan’s relationship with longtime confidant Michael McClain, and whether Madigan continued to give McClain political “assignments” after McClain’s retirement from lobbying in 2016, according to prosecutors.
“If the defendant had been honest, he would have been a star witness,” Schwartz said. “But he did everything he could to obstruct the process … to minimize his participation, to act as if he was clueless.”
Mapes’ attorney, Andrew Porter, blasted those allegations in his closing argument, saying Mapes did his “level best” to provide truthful answers. He also accused prosecutors of asking open-ended questions and failing to provide Mapes with any corroborating materials that might refresh his recollection of years-old conversations..
Saying Mapes could have been a star witness “assumes, without evidence, assumes that Tim Mapes knew whether Madigan and McClain were discussing these topics,” Porter said. “And he didn’t. … He couldn’t remember what he didn’t know.”
[ Tim Mapes perjury trial: Evidence seen and heard by the jury ]
Porter also said Mapes had no motive to lie, particularly since Madigan had forced his resignation over harassment and bullying allegations that Mapes had denied.
“The government throws out (it was to) ‘protect the boss’. … Why would he fall on his sword for a guy who kicked him to the curb three years before?” Porter asked the jury.
Over eight days of testimony, prosecutors presented 14 witnesses and dozens of wiretapped phone conversations, emails and other documents in an effort to prove that Mapes was lying.
The prosecution’s case also included the audio of Mapes’ entire grand jury testimony, offering a rare glimpse into a secretive process and illuminating how big-time political corruption investigations play out behind the scenes.
Mapes, who in addition to being Madigan’s chief of staff also served stints as executive director of the state Democratic Party and the clerk of the House, chose not to testify in his own defense.
–
–
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
rlong@chicagotribune.com
