Progress Illinois

In politics, it's all about timing. For 18th District GOP congressional candidate Aaron Schock, a new AP article -- which suggests he may have committed a misdemeanor in his capacity as a notary public -- couldn't have come at a more inopportune moment.

Here's the gist of the piece. In 2000, Schock's parents, under the guidance of some tax specialists later accussed of tax fraud, put some of their money and property into a variety of corporations and a charitable trust beginning January 1, 2000 as a way to reduce their tax burden legally. Despite repeated requests, the specialists failed to provide some of the documents for the couple to sign until spring of the next year. Once they received the documents, their then 19-year old son Aaron, who became a notary while working at a gravel company in high school, watched his parents retroactively sign the document with the January 1 date, denoting the time themselves when the tax shelters were formally established. This was verified during his father Robert's testimony at the fraud case this past July.

A trial transcript shows Richard Schock was asked, "And your son, Aaron, would not have signed this on January 1 of 2000; isn't that correct?"

"That's correct," he replied

Robert denies he intended to defraud the government and indeed prosecutors did not suggest Schock benefitted financially during the questioning either.  Meanwhile, Aaron told the AP his actions weren't improper. From his point of view, a notary simply verifies the identity of the person signing a document, not whether it's filled out properly. Others disagree:

But notaries also declare that they witnessed a signature on a specific date. Schock's notarization said the documents were "acknowledged before me this 1st day of January, 2000" -- which his father testified was not true.

"That's illegal," said Gerrie Pierre-Fleurimond, a longtime notary who runs a New Jersey-based training school for notaries. "To backdate a document ... is illegal. You have to notarize for the current date."

In Illinois, knowingly committing official misconduct is a Class A misdemeanor while doing it "through recklessness" is a Class B misdemeanor. Democratic candidate Colleen Callahan said voters deserve an explanation:

"Serious questions have been raised about Aaron Schock's conduct and judgment while serving as a notary public. The heart of public service is honesty, openness and trust," Callahan said.