{"id":2214428,"date":"2024-04-06T13:41:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-06T17:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-tells-key-witness-in-madigan-corruption-case-he-handed-defense-a-gift\/"},"modified":"2024-04-06T13:43:18","modified_gmt":"2024-04-06T17:43:18","slug":"judge-tells-key-witness-in-madigan-corruption-case-he-handed-defense-a-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-tells-key-witness-in-madigan-corruption-case-he-handed-defense-a-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge accuses key witness in Madigan corruption case of giving defense a significant advantage"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-tells-key-witness-in-madigan-corruption-case-he-handed-defense-a-gift%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2214428&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses a key witness in the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan who allegedly lied on a federal gun purchase \u2063form, aiding Madigan&#8217;s\u2063 defense \u2063but posing challenges for prosecutors. Fidel Marquez, \u200da former \u2062ComEd executive cooperating in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-video-links-biden-to-ukrainian-corruption-burisma-indictment-reveals-ex-president-yanukovich-illegally-obtained-7-4-billion-laundered-thru-fund-close-to-us-democratic-party\/\" title=\"New Video Links Biden to Ukrainian Corruption \u2013 Burisma Indictment Reveals Ex-President Yanukovich Illegally Obtained .4 Billion Laundered Thru Fund \u201cClose to US Democratic Party\u201d\">corruption investigation<\/a>, reportedly provided false information\u200d on the\u200b form \u200dduring a gun purchase attempt in another state.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_78\">\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2013 A key witness in former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/government-opposes-menendezs-push-to-delay-bribery-trial\/\" title=\"Government opposes Menendez's bid to postpone bribery trial\">upcoming corruption trial<\/a> was caught lying on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ga-state-senate-votes-35-18-to-mandate-voter-id-for-mail-in-ballots\/\" title=\"Ga. State Senate votes 35-18 to mandate voter ID for mail-in ballots\">federal form<\/a> to buy a gun, a major blow for prosecutors and a surprise boon for Madigan\u2019s defense team.<\/p>\n<p>Fidel Marquez, the former ComEd executive who cooperated with federal investigators in the corruption probe, tried to buy a gun in March in another state. When he filled out the federal form, he answered \u201cno\u201d to the question that asked if he was \u201cunder indictment or information in any court for a felony.\u201d Marquez also responded \u201cno\u201d to a question on the form that asked if he had been convicted of a felony. <\/p>\n<p>Marquez pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit bribery in 2020. That felony popped up during the gun purchase process. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe mandatory <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">review process<\/a> flagged the charge in the information, and the transaction was denied through the review process,\u201d prosecutors wrote in a request for a hearing on the matter. \u201cMarquez did not receive the firearm he attempted to purchase.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Judge Mary Rowland admonished Marquez during a court appearance on Friday, according to a report from the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2024\/04\/05\/fidel-marquez-comed-key-madigan-probe-witness-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chicago Tribune<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe thing that you have is your credibility \u2013 that\u2019s it,\u201d the judge told Marquez during a brief status hearing, the Tribune reported. \u201cAnd you have now handed a gift to Madigan\u2019s defense attorneys. It is a first-year law student\u2019s dream, basically, to do a cross-examination like this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marquez served as a crucial witness for federal prosecutors during the trial of four former ComEd executives and lobbyists last year. He spent five days on the stand in that case. A jury convicted all four defendants in that 2023 trial. Sentencing in that case has been <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/illinois\/article_5bc5a864-d714-11ee-a57b-5793acaf4b8c.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">delayed<\/a><\/strong>, but could continue later this year after a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in an unrelated case that focuses on part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/from-the-hague-to-obamas-irs-scandal-meet-jack-smith-the-new-special-counsel-to-investigate-trump\/\" title=\"From The Hague To Obama\u2019s IRS Scandal: Meet Jack Smith, The New Special Counsel To Investigate Trump\">federal bribery statute<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Madigan, who resigned after losing the House speakership in January 2021, has been charged with 23 counts of racketeering, bribery, and official misconduct in a case that could go to trial in October. Madigan has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A pivotal witness in the corruption trial of ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan faces credibility issues after allegedly providing false information on a federal gun purchase form. This development is a setback for prosecutors and an unforeseen advantage for Madigan&#8217;s defense team. Fidel Marquez, a former ComEd executive collaborating with federal authorities in the corruption probe, is at the center of this revelation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2214429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP22061777913472-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2214428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP22061777913472-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2214428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2214429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2214428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2214428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2214428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}