Ammons seeks to dismiss federal charges; says feds misinterpreted ethics law
(The Center Square) – An Illinois lawmaker charged in a federal alleged kickback scheme is asking a judge to dismiss the case against her.
Attorneys for State Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Champaign, filed a motion Friday contending the indictment either fails to allege a crime or doesn’t clearly explain what laws she is accused of violating.
On the wire fraud counts, related to both an alleged kickback scheme in which state taxpayer dollars were funneled to nonprofits employing the lawmaker’s daughter, and for the misuse of campaign funds, Ammons argued prosecutors failed to include all the facts necessary to support the charges.
“The wire fraud counts fail to specify the Illinois conflict of interest law at issue and fail to allege that Rep. Ammons engaged in deception or had the victims’ money or property as an object of the scheme to defraud,” according to the filing.
It continued by contending that the federal government misrepresented Illinois law defining conflicts of interest as it relates to taxpayer dollars in the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act.
Illinois’ grant rules, the Grant Transparency and Accountability Act, require conflict of interest disclosures only from people who oversee an organization or are a grant recipient. They said Ammons was acting as a state legislator, not in either of those roles.
As for the laws governing a state lawmaker’s behavior, statute only prevents the spouse or minor child from benefitting from General Assembly-appropriated funds.
Because Ammons’ daughter, Titianna Ammons, was an adult, the motion maintains that no conflict existed under state law. It also notes prosecutors don’t allege she was paid for any work she didn’t perform for the nonprofits.
In a second argument, Ammons’ attorneys contend federal prosecutors are improperly trying to enforce state ethics rules, which they say are matters for Illinois to regulate based on years of legal precedent.
As for the false statement charge, which stems from the representative telling federal investigators that she was unaware of any conflict of interest, her lawyers said that she couldn’t have made a false statement because a conflict of interest doesn’t exist under state law.
The filing asks that the final count, one charge of witness tampering shared by both Carol Ammons and her husband Aaron Ammons – the Champaign County Clerk – to be thrown out because the indictment alleges that “Ammons was merely present when Aaron Ammons attempted to tamper with the witness.”
The motion asks U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless to dismiss the indictment or hold a hearing on the request.
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