SHOCKING: Closet Case Illinois Congressman AARON SCHOCK RESIGNS! After New Questions About Mileage Expenses!
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Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock resigned Tuesday, less than 12 hours after the media raised questions about tens of thousands of dollars in mileage reimbursements he received for his personal vehicle.
Schock billed the federal government and his campaign for logging roughly 170,000 miles on his personal car from January 2010 through July 2014. But when he sold that Chevrolet Tahoe in July 2014, it had roughly 80,000 miles on the odometer, according to public records obtained under Illinois open records laws. The documents, in other words, indicate he was reimbursed for 90,000 miles more than his car was driven.
The discrepancy added to a growing wave of ethical and legal problems for the 33-year-old politician.
“[T]he constant questions over the last six weeks have proven 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,” Schock said in a surprise statement on Tuesday. “I have always sought to do what’s best for my constituents, and I thank them for the opportunity to serve.”
Later Tuesday, a spokesman for Schock added, “In an effort to remove any questions and out of an abundance of caution, Congressman Schock has reimbursed all monies received for official mileage since his election to Congress.”
Schock’s resignation marks a swift downfall of one of the GOP’s most promising young stars and prolific fundraisers. The former state legislator was elected to Congress in 2008 and shot through the ranks of the House GOP, at one point gracing the cover of Men’s Health magazine. He was a fresh face in a party eager to update its image.
But as his prominence grew, Schock adopted an expensive lifestyle — staying in luxury hotels, dining at pricey restaurants, flying on private jets. Mounting questions about how he paid for it eventually caught up with him.
The congressman’s vehicle history was pieced together from dozens of pages of Illinois vehicle records.
When Schock transferred the SUV to an Illinois dealership in 2014, it had 81,860 miles on the odometer, documents show. However, from January 2010 to the end of July 2014, he billed the federal government for 123,131 miles on his personal vehicle. During the same period, the Republican billed his “Schock for Congress” campaign account and GOP Generation Y Fund, his leadership political action committee, for an additional 49,388 miles.
Altogether, Schock sought reimbursement for 172,520 miles on his car, despite the fact that he signed documents that certified the vehicle traveled less than half that distance.
Schock had no other vehicles registered in his name at the time, according to state public records. Multiple sources familiar with his office operations say he only drove the Tahoe during this period.
In November 2009, less than a year after Schock took his seat in Congress, the lawmaker bought the 2010 Tahoe from Green Chevrolet in Peoria. The dealership is owned by Jeff Green, a contributor to Schock who has flown the congressman around his district in his airplane and helicopter.
When Schock purchased the new car, it had four miles on it, according to publicly available automobile transaction documents.
On July 19, 2014, Schock transferred the car back to Green Chevrolet with 81,860 miles on it, according to a transfer document Schock signed.
On that same day in 2014, Schock bought a black 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe with 10 miles on it. Schock’s campaign spent nearly $75,000 on the car, according to campaign filings, but the congressman registered the car in his own name. The SUV sports congressional license plates with the number “18” — the number of Schock’s congressional district.
Between 2010 and 2014, the government mileage reimbursement requests were filed by Schock on a near-monthly basis. Members of Congress and staffers are permitted to bill the government and campaign for use of a personal vehicle, and, generally speaking, do not have to keep logs to record the miles they drive.
When asked about the mileage several weeks ago, Schock’s office said the congressman spends a lot of time in automobiles and chartering private jets between events in his central Illinois district. His office also raised the possibility that staffers were driving his vehicle and weren’t sure if it was permissible under the rules.
During the past month, Schock repaid the government $40,000 after spending money from his official office budget to redecorate his office to resemble the set of PBS’s “Downton Abbey,” an English historical drama. He also reimbursed taxpayers more than $1,200 after using his office account to pay to fly on a private plane to a Chicago Bears football game.
Separately, on a campaign-finance document, Schock labeled the cost of a November flight on a private plane as a software purchase. He has failed to report trips abroad, as required. And he held a fundraiser at a golf course without reporting paying for its use.
In an interview with Politics Blog POLITICO last week in Peoria, Schock could not say with certainty that he had not broken the law.
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“I certainly hope not,” Schock said. The Illinois Republican added that he was not an attorney, and therefore could not know whether he broke the law or ethics rules. Schock also declined to directly answer whether he had accepted improper gifts as a member of Congress.
News reports by the Chicago Sun-Times raised a series of questions about Schock’s spending and record-keeping. The Office of Congressional Ethics opened an investigation of the lawmaker on Feb. 28 and has begun contacting his associates about appearing before the independent panel behind closed doors.
The OCE probe —and any potential Ethics Committee investigation — will disappear with Schock’s resignation. However, federal law enforcement could still look into Schock’s actions. He has two attorneys, former Federal Election Commission Commissioner Don McGahn and criminal defense attorney William McGinley, both of Jones Day. Ron Bonjean and Brian Walsh, two longtime GOP communications aides, are handling his press strategy.
Empire's Own, Bryshere Gray Snags A Major Label Record Deal!
It seems like the best way to get discovered is to star on a hit TV show!
Recently, Jussie Smollett (Jamal Lyon) of "Empire" signed a record deal with Columbia Records. Now, fellow castmate, Bryshere Gray (Hakeem Lyon) has snagged a record deal on a major label.
The Philly actor will go by the stage name Yazz The Great. During a promotional run for the hit show "Empire" Yazz confirmed that the record deal is with a major label but he did not mention the label's name. He did say that names like Snoop Dogg and Timbaland are involved with the project and his first album is coming soon.
The music of "Empire" has been really hot. We're looking forward to see how the "Drip Drop" rapper will create his own sound on the debut album. Congratulations!
Guess Which Love & Hip Hop Couple Just Confirmed A Baby On The Way?
Babies and weddings always seem to work their way into the lives of reality tv couples no matter how long….or short…the length of their relationships and now another small screen twosome is supposedly joining the parents club.
Here they are!
Here they are!
Benzino and Althea! These two have had somewhat of a rocky ride throughout the course of their coupledom but they seem to be still going strong despite drama from just about every angle you can imagine. Any guesses as to which Love & Hip Hop duo just made a baby announcement?
Love & Hip Hop Atlanta cast member Althea Gibson took to her Instagram page with this message for Benzino which you can find below.
And Benzino immediately responded with joy below..
LOL!
Stork Alert: Vin Diesel Welcomes Baby #3!
The “Fast & Furious 6” hunk announced Monday (March 16) the birth of his third child with longtime girlfriend Paloma Jimenez, posting an adorable photo to his Facebook page.
Diesel captioned the snapshot, “I hear babies crying, I watch them grow. They’ll learn much more, Than I’ll ever know. And I think to myself, What a wonderful world,” taken from Louis Armstrong’s classic “What A Wonderful World. Vin and Paloma have a four-year-old son named Vincent and a six-year-old daughter named Hania.
Transgender Teen, Jazz Jennings, Lands Major Beauty Deal
Meet fifteen-year-old Jazz Jennings. Jennings is a transgender teen and YouTube sensation whose become an activist for those like herself.
Although she was born a boy, since the age of five, Jennings has lived her life as a girl.
Now, she’s landed a major deal with a beauty company, becoming the face of “Clean and Clear” and their “See the Real Me” campaign.
“Growing up has been quite a struggle being transgender, especially in middle school,” says Jennings.
“Some kids greet each other with hugs and just give me a ‘hi,’” she explains in the “Clean and Clear” ad.
“The real me is happy and proud to be who I am and I’m just having fun being one of the girls,” she adds.
Jennings, who is also an author at her tender age, will also be documenting her life in her own TLC doc-series, “All That Jazz.”
“We know that families come in all shapes and sizes, but at their core, they are all about love, acceptance and support,” the president of TLC said in a statement about the new show. “Only TLC can tell this family’s story in a way that celebrates and demystifies differences in an effort to help create a world without prejudice.”
See Jazz’s “Clean and Clear” commercial HERE!
Share your thoughts.
Drake Tells His Fans He Has No Part In “The Drake Homecoming” Movie
Drake took to twitter to tell his fans he has nothing to do with “The Drake Homecoming” film !! Rap-A-Lot, (James Prince and Jas Prince) and a few other companies are releasing a “lost footage” Drake film this week for one day only.
Drake tweeted a few moments ago, “The Drake Homecoming film is not something OVO or Drake have any part in. I feel it is my responsibility to inform and protect my fans”………..
I thought Drake is cool with James & Jas Prince ?? Is Drake being professional protecting his brand and fans or is Drake throwing shade and in his feeling? Seems as if he is suggesting fans not to support this project.
FYI Chris Brown partied in Houston last night with Rap-A-Lot CEO James Prince, we were recently informed that they all have been close to Chris Brown for years…So what is really going on with Drake and J Prince??
ON THE SET! Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan on the set of the new Rocky Film!
Of all the glut of remakes hitting the big screen, one is eagerly awaited.
And it seems the new Rocky spinoff will take heavy inspiration from the earlier movies - with shots showing the actors recreating an iconic scene on Monday.
Sylvester Stallone, back in the title role as Rocky Balboa, put his co-star Michael B. Jordan through the paces in a chicken coop during the filming of Creed in Philadelphia.
As fans will immediately recognise, Rocky's trainer Mickey [played by Burgess Meredith] had the boxer chase chickens in Rocky II to prepare for his rematch with world champion Apollo.
The 68-year-old actor is reprising his famous role for the spin-off featuring 28-year-old Jordan as boxer Adonis Johnson Creed.
In the film Rocky agrees to train Adonis - the son of his former rival turned friend Apollo Creed who died in the ring in Rocky IV.
Jordan was decked out in workout gear including a black hoodie, black vest, black gloves, grey sweatpants and red Nike trainers.
Stallone wore a black slightly flattened fedora, dark blue coat, black trousers and work boots.
He carried a stopwatch as the pair filmed a scene with several chickens.
Creed is being directed by Ryan Coogler who also directed Jordan in the 2013 drama Fruitvale Station that was received with critical acclaim.
The film is the seventh movie featuring the Balboa character.
Azealia Banks Spares No Feelings In Her Kitty Noir ‘Playboy’ Cover Story
Azealia Banks is all about showing her ass, literally and figuratively.
The opinionated rapstress bared it all in her cover story with Playboy, sparing no feelings and holding nothing back. Not only did she show a bit of skin, but she opened up about troubled past relationships, the problem with black people practicing Christianity, the indelible mark she wants to leave on music and more.
In the shoot, Banks tapped into her inner feline friskiness, posing for photographer Ellen Von Unwerth. The photos accompanying the web story show Miss Banks keeping it classy, but the full nude images will be available in the printed magazine come March 20.
Until then, read some of the most explosive tidbits of her sit-down with Playboy.
On relations with older men:
[My longest relationship] started when I was 17. He was 43. There’s something very wrong with a man that age who wants to date a 17-year-old girl. I didn’t know how to shave my bush and shit like that. I had a hairy pussy. I didn’t know how to wear perfume. I had neon pink barrettes in my hair. And as “212” started to pop off and my career started to happen, he became jealous. He choked me and beat me up, and of course you should not be fucking with a man who puts his hands on you, but I was stupid and young… I love older men. The things in an older man’s house are better—his furniture, even his knives and his pots. And they smell better. Young guys, they may skip a shower and shit like that.
On looking up to Jay Z industry defiance:
Jay Z. That’s the only person I have my eye set on. The race thing always comes up, but I want to get there being very black and proud and boisterous about it. You get what I mean? A lot of times when you’re a black woman and you’re proud, that’s why people don’t like you. In American society, the game is to be a nonthreatening black person. That’s why you have Pharrell or Kendrick Lamar saying, “How can we expect people to respect us if we don’t respect ourselves?” He’s playing that nonthreatening black man shit, and that gets all the white soccer moms going, “We love him.” Even Kanye West plays a little bit of that game—“Please accept me, white world.” Jay Z hasn’t played any of those games, and that’s what I like.
On being just one of many intelligent artists that speak up:
There are plenty of intelligent musicians. Kanye West, J. Cole, Ariel Pink, Lauryn Hill, KRS-One, Q-Tip—lots of people. I’m not special.
On troublesome societal stereotypes:
There’s misogyny, and then there’s something called misogynoir [a term coined by writer Moya Bailey to describe “the unique ways in which black women are pathologized in popular culture”]. We have all these stereotypes in society: The gay man is a faggot and he’s over-the-top, or you’re an untrustworthy cracker, or you’re a loud black bitch. All these things exist for a reason, you know what I’m saying? Yeah, I am loud and boisterous.
On being too scared of diseases for lots of casual sex:
I should be getting dick all the time. I like to fuck. [laughs] But I can’t just meet a guy and fuck him. I’m too afraid of getting herpes or some shit. I like to feel them out, and then I start talking about my black female problems, and we get into a conversation about race, and then we disagree and don’t have another date. Whatever. I’ll just hang out with my mother. It’s okay, because pussy is way more sacred than penis.
OMG! Tyrese is TERRIFIED his EX Wife might try to flee to another country with their Daughter!
Tyrese is terrified that his ex-wife is planning to flee to Israel with their daughter…
According to TMZ Tyrese just filed legal docs to prevent his ex-wife Norma Gibson from taking their 7-year-old daughter Shayla with her to Israel because Norma is an Israeli citizen and he fears she may not come back.
Apparently Tyrese tired to get Norma to sign a contract promising to be back by a certain date or lose custody. Norma refused and now Tyrese is trying to get a judge to put a kibosh on the trip.
Norma and Shayla are scheduled to depart March 27.
Keyshia Cole and Daniel Gibson Call a Truce
Over the past few weeks Keyshia Cole and her estranged husband Daniel Gibson have been waging a messy marriage war on social media for all the world to see.
Welp, Keyshia and Daniel are done fighting.
Publicly at least, anyway…Keyshia posted on Instagram that everything was all good between her and Dan and that from now on they would be keeping it cute on social media.
Only Time will tell!
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
‘The Resolver’
Check out Mr. Miyagi over here with that wax on, wax off.
HAVE A GREAT DAY ALL!!!
EFREM
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