Ex-Illinois senator William "Sam" McCann's fraud trial delayed again as he drops plan to represent himself

Source: Associated Press

Ex-Illinois senator McCann’s fraud trial delayed again as he drops plan to represent himself

BY JOHN O’CONNOR
Updated 5:29 PM EST, February 12, 2024

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday further delayed the wire fraud and money laundering trial of William “Sam” McCann, a former candidate for Illinois governor, after McCann declared he was “medically and psychologically” unable to proceed and dropped his plan to represent himself.

U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Lawless didn’t buy the self-diagnosis of the ex-lawmaker, who was hospitalized last week with chest pains and fainting spells but discharged on Wednesday. But after a second conference with his so-called standby attorney, Jason Vincent, McCann indicated he wanted Vincent to take over and the judge granted a one-day extension to allow Vincent to confirm a defense strategy with his client.

McCann, a former Republican state senator from Plainview who waged a 2018 third-party conservative campaign for governor, was indicted in February 2021 by former U.S. Attorney John Milhiser, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump. McCann faces seven counts of wire fraud and single counts of money laundering and tax evasion for allegedly converting hundreds of thousands of dollars of political campaign contributions to personal use.

In response to questioning by Lawless, McCann, who has been held in a nearby county jail since his personal recognizance bond was revoked last Friday, said he had fallen overnight and was found by jailers early this morning.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/sam-mccann-illinois-corruption-trial-f2b8289e593072a1d8c406614c31b038