GOP Congressman Aaron Schock Hires Lawyers as Ethics Questions Grow

Republican Congressman Aaron Schock - who is widely thought to be a closeted gay - has growing problems as ethics concerns grow over Schock's billing private air travel and other perks to his congressional office and/or his campaign fund.  Now, Schock has hired hugely expensive Washington, D.C., legal counsel to defend him from the circling political and legal wolves.  I truly don't wish Schock ill, but if he's a closeted gay voting against gay rights, he will deserve going down in flames.  Politico looks at Schock's very costly move.  Here are highlights:

Rep. Aaron Schock has hired two prominent Washington defense attorneys and a public relations firm to respond to the swirling controversy and a potential ethics probe over how he has financed his lavish lifestyle.

The move by the embattled Illinois Republican comes amid continuing questions about his use of campaign and office accounts to pay for pricey travel and accommodations. His office has refused to respond to specific questions from POLITICO, including issues raised over the past week about a trip he took to London nearly four years ago as part of an annual event featuring Prince Charles.

Schock has hired William McGinley and Don McGahn of the Washington law firm Jones Day to lead his legal team. Veteran GOP communications operatives Ron Bonjean and Brian Walsh are helping manage his response, according to sources close to the matter.

Schock’s decision to hire outside help to manage the continuing fallout signals a new, more serious stage of the unfolding scandal. He has flown on private jets, stayed in five-star hotels and collected tens of thousands of dollars in mileage reimbursements from his campaign and the government. In addition, Schock used his campaign account last year to purchase a nearly $74,000 Chevy Tahoe that he uses while in the district.

POLITICO has repeatedly sought information regarding Schock’s trip in June 2011 to London. He stayed at Claridge’s, a five-star hotel where the least expensive rooms currently cost $500 per night. He also was scheduled to visit the city’s posh clothing stores and dined at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, according to the documents.

The trip, which included events organized by the nonprofit Prince of Wales Foundation, was not an official government trip and was not reported as a gift. Schock’s office would not say whether he paid for it. If he personally covered the cost of the trip, Schock would not be required to disclose it.

If it was a political excursion, Schock could have used campaign funds. However, the London itinerary does not appear to involve any congressional or political activities.

Scrutiny of Schock’s opulent and somewhat unusual spending has been mounting for weeks. It started when The Washington Post revealed that he had redecorated his Capitol Hill office to look like “Downton Abbey,” the PBS show about British aristocracy. Schock has publicly declared that he will cover the costs of that renovation.

On March 18, he left for a 10-day trip to Saudi Arabia, along with Republican Reps. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, that was paid for by Saudi Arabia’s antiquities and tourism commission. House members and employees may accept travel paid for by a foreign government without review by the ethics panel. But members must disclose such trips taken under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act on their annual financial disclosure forms.  Stutzman and Lummis listed the trip; Schock did not.