Emanuel Put ‘On Notice’ by Election Official UPDATED
The election board hearing officer in the case to throw Rahm Emanuel off the mayoral ballot “provisionally” issued a subpoena Friday for Emanuel’s wife, Amy Rule, to appear as a witness.
But official Joseph Morris said he could reconsider that decision on Monday morning and ultimately quash the subpoena, depending on what facts the lawyers for both sides agree to over the weekend.
“I am putting candidate Emanuel on notice,” Morris said. “If there is some open issue that could reasonably be addressed by Amy Rule, I will let people call Amy Rule” to testify.
During the status hearing on the case, Emanuel strongly criticized the notion of involving his wife in the matter. In an interview with WLS-780 AM, the former White House chief of staff called for his critics to “respect the family.”
“I’m the one that’s running for mayor,” Emanuel said. “My family is my family and there’s a line you shouldn’t cross.”
Emanuel’s lawyer, Mike Kasper, echoed that stance in his comments at the hearing.
“We object strenuously,” Kasper said. “She is a mother of three children, and it is not a secret that she is in Washington, D.C.”
The comment sparked snickering from many of the more than 30 objectors challenging the former White House chief of staff’s effort to appear on the mayoral ballot in the Feb. 22 election. They allege that Emanuel should not be allowed to run because he has not been a resident of Chicago long enough to qualify as a candidate.
“Has Mr. Emanuel’s wife ever heard of a babysitter or a nanny,” a woman shouted, interrupting the meeting at election board offices.
Kasper said the candidate could testify to anything that his wife would also say. “This is simply an effort at harassing someone who is not seeking the office,” he said.
Burton Odelson, the veteran election lawyer representing two objectors in the case, had asked for Rule to appear in a motion filed with the election board on Tuesday. But Odelson said at the hearing Friday he would drop his request for her testimony if he receives documents that he has requested, including school records for the Emanuels’ children.
Emanuel is expected to be the first witness when testimony begins Tuesday morning.
Friday’s hearing often was as chaotic as the initial public session on the case on Monday. At one point in the four-hour session, many of the objectors tried to show that they wanted Rule to testify by raising their hands.
“I didn’t ask for a show of hands,” Morris said.
One of the objectors, city worker Patrick McDonough, asked for subpoenas for 10 witnesses. They included former City Hall inspector general Alexander Vroustouris and several former city employees who he said were fired for violating the requirement that they live in the city. McDonough did not mention that Vroustouris had attempted to get him kicked off the city payroll for allegedly living in the suburbs.
“We think none of these people would have relevant testimony,” Kasper said.
Morris also said he saw no reason to agree to McDonough’s request.
Another objector, Jeffrey Joseph Black, responded angrily when Morris denied his motion to serve a subpoena to the FBI’s top official in Chicago. Black said he wanted access to federal files regarding Emanuel.
“You are breaking the law,” Black told Morris.
“Your theories are fanciful,” Morris replied, before sarcastically suggesting that Black would find out more about Emanuel by seeking Russia’s intelligence files.
At another point, Black told Morris that election officials would face “serious criminal accountability” for their handling of the case.
