Former Madigan aide Tim Mapes convicted of lying to grand jury to protect former Illinois House Speaker

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Tim Mapes, the longtime chief of staff to former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, was convicted Thursday on charges he lied under oath to a grand jury to protect his old boss.

A federal jury found Mapes guilty of one count of perjury and one count of attempted obstruction of justice. The perjury charge carries a sentence of up to 5 years, and the obstruction charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years.

Mapes' sentencing has been scheduled for January 10th.

Jurors deliberated about five hours before announcing they'd reached a verdict.

Federal prosecutors had accused Mapes of lying to a grand jury about his knowledge of Madigan's relationship with longtime confidante Michael McClain from 2017 to 2019, despite being granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for truthful testimony.

Mapes, who served as Madigan's chief of staff until 2018, denied knowing McClain acted as an agent or performed work for Madigan doing those years, when he knew McClain had done so, according to the indictment. The grand jury claimed Mapes attempted to "corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede" the investigation.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys presented their closing arguments on Wednesday at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.

During the nearly three-week trial, the jury heard a recording of Mapes' entire grand jury testimony, spanning approximately two hours. Such recordings are typically kept secret. Jurors also heard several hours of wiretap recordings that seemed to contradict his grand jury testimony.

In February 2021, about six weeks before his grand jury testimony, Mapes sat down for an FBI interview, but prosecutors have suggested he ended that interview after he was asked about Madigan and his longtime confidant, Mike McClain.

He was later subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury, and after asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, he was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for truthful testimony. But federal prosecutors said he repeatedly lied when he testified, despite repeated warnings that he could be prosecuted for perjury.

"For whatever reason in his heart and his mind, (Mapes) chose loyalty over the truth," Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur said during closing arguments Wednesday.

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.

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.

McClain was convicted earlier this year, alongside three others, in a federal bribery case involving utility giant ComEd. McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, retired ComEd vice president John Hooker, and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty were found guilty on each and every count of a nine-count indictment accusing them of conspiracy, bribery, and falsifying documents.

Federal prosecutors accused the defendants of using their influence to reward former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his associates for about eight years beginning in 2011, in order to ensure Madigan would help them pass legislation beneficial to ComEd. Defendant McClain is also a close Madigan confidant.

The indictment claimed the four defendants conspired to influence and reward the speaker by arranging for jobs and contracts for his political allies and workers.

Madigan is scheduled to go on trial next April on racketeering, conspiracy, bribery, and wire fraud charges. McClain is also a co-defendant in that case.

Madigan and McClain are accused of a bribery scheme involving multiple businesses – including ComEd and AT&T – In which the businesses paid Madigan's associates as a reward for their loyalty to Madigan. Federal prosecutors said Madigan used his various political positions as part of a long-term scheme to arrange for no-show jobs for his political workers, and personal benefits for himself.