It is finally Tim Mapes’ turn to tell his side of the story to a federal jury that has heard nearly two weeks of testimony as prosecutors tried to prove the longtime chief of staff to Michael Madigan lied under oath as federal investigators moved in on his former boss.
Mapes’ attorneys are expected to begin calling witnesses when his trial resumes Tuesday, a process that is expected to last another day or so.
Mapes is under no obligation to prove his innocence. However, defense attorney Andrew Porter told U.S. District Judge John Kness on Monday that he expects to call a handful of witnesses.
Those witnesses include Dawn McBride, an expert in human memory; Bronwyn Rains, Mapes’ wife; Emily Wurth, a onetime official in Madigan’s political organization; and former FBI Special Agent Edward McNamara.
Porter did not mention plans to seek testimony from Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu, despite a legal tussle earlier in the trial over whether Bhachu could be subpoenaed in the case. Bhachu asked Mapes questions before a grand jury March 31, 2021, that led to the perjury and attempted obstruction of justice charges Mapes now faces.
The defense attorney also said no decision had yet been made about whether Mapes will testify — though such a move seems unlikely.
Mapes is accused of lying on seven specific occasions about work done for Madigan, Illinois’ once-powerful former House speaker, by another Springfield insider, Michael McClain.
Mapes’ defense attorneys have argued he either didn’t know the answers to the questions he was asked before the grand jury, or he didn’t remember them. In opening statements, they compared Mapes’ testimony to a pop quiz ahead of a high school prom — in which a wrong answer could result in a felony.
They’ve also suggested that Mapes, who had direct access to Madigan, didn’t necessarily buy into the accepted narrative in Springfield that McClain carried messages and performed other tasks for Madigan — a narrative McClain had a financial interest in pushing as a lobbyist.
For example, the defense renewed an effort Tuesday to tell jurors about an earlier investigation involving McClain in which McClain apparently lied to a client about Madigan’s involvement in an unspecified matter.
Kness refused during the trial’s first week to let that evidence in. But Mapes’ lawyers pushed the matter for a second time Monday, and Kness said he would think about it.
McClain was convicted earlier this year along with three others for a conspiracy to bribe Madigan. He also faces trial in April with Madigan in a separate case in which they are each charged with a racketeering conspiracy.