Jury begins deliberations in perjury trial of former Madigan aide Tim Mapes
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Jurors began deliberating Wednesday in the trial of Tim Mapes, the longtime chief of staff to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who is accused of lying under oath to a grand jury to protect his boss.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys presented their closing arguments on Wednesday at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, following more than two weeks of testimony.
Federal prosecutors said Mapes had a mantra: "protect the boss," and he lied repeatedly to do that. Mapes' defense said "protect the boss" meant protecting Madigan from political fallout, and nothing else.
As Speaker Madigan's top aide for more than 25 years, the prosecution said Mapes lied about the nature of the long-term relationship between Madigan and his longtime confidant Michael McClain, arguing Mapes knew McClain, a lobbyist and close Madigan friend, did work for the former speaker.
Earlier this year, McClain was convicted in the so-called "Com-Ed Four" trial, accused of a conspiracy to bribe Madigan in exchange for his support for legislation beneficial to ComEd.
Federal prosecutors said when called to testify before a grand jury investigating the ComEd case, Mapes lied "to protect the boss Mike Madigan and lied to protect his friend, Mike McClain."
Mapes' attorney, Andrew Porter, told jurors the grand jury was investigating whether Madigan and McClain conspired to work together to do Madigan's bidding. Porter said Mapes didn't know anything about this, and made that clear to the grand jury, saying his client, "can't remember what he doesn't know."
Porter also said "Mapes' relationship was a close working relationship. Mike Madigan was Tim Mapes' boss."
Mapes' attorney went on to say, while many witnesses who worked with Mapes testified he was very detail-oriented, that doesn't mean he would remember emails, documents, and phone calls that he considered to be insignificant events.
Jurors began deliberations late Wednesday afternoon, before going home for the night. They will return Thursday morning to resume deliberations.
Madigan and McClain are facing trial next spring on racketeering and bribery charges.
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