A federal judge has reduced the number of counts in the political corruption case against former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski.
U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson dismissed charges that the Illinois Democrat lied to Congress about alleged schemes involving ghost employees on the payroll, personal purchases at the House stationery store, cash-for-stamps at the House Post Office and vehicle leases in his district.Johnson's ruling, made public on Thursday, left 13 of the original 17 counts. It was not unexpected given a Supreme Court ruling last May, about a year after Rostenkowski's indictment, that narrowed the scope of a federal false-statements law.
After the high court ruling, a federal appeals court ordered Johnson to re-examine the four counts that charged Rostenkowski with lying to Congress and two others that charged him with lying to the Federal Election Commission.
The law prohibits lying to "any department or agency" of the federal government. The Supreme Court said the law cannot be used to prosecute people for lying to courts, and also implied that people cannot be charged with lying to Congress.
The Illinois Democrat lost his bid for a 19th term in November 1994.