| | In 2014, he was defeated in the Republican primary for the [[United States Senate]] by moderate Republican [[John Cornyn]], who went on to defeat [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] opposition to win his third term. [[Dwayne Stovall]], a school board member from Cleveland in Liberty County in southeastern Texas, divided the conservative vote with Stockman, but Cornyn had a majority in the primary anyway. By entering the Senate contest, Stockman was unable to seek reelection to the House. | | In 2014, he was defeated in the Republican primary for the [[United States Senate]] by moderate Republican [[John Cornyn]], who went on to defeat [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] opposition to win his third term. [[Dwayne Stovall]], a school board member from Cleveland in Liberty County in southeastern Texas, divided the conservative vote with Stockman, but Cornyn had a majority in the primary anyway. By entering the Senate contest, Stockman was unable to seek reelection to the House. |
| − | On March 28, 2017, Stockman was [[indictment|indicted]] by a federal grand jury for an assortment of financial crimes. He is charged with having obtained $1.25 million under false pretenses from conservative donors and used that money to pay personal expenses and to underwrite his political campaigns. He faced eleven counts of money laundering, eight counts of mail and wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to make "conduit contributions" and false statements, two counts of making false statements to the [[Federal Election Commission]], one count of making excessive contributions, and another count for not disclosing his total income on his 2013 federal tax return. Stockman's trial began March 19, 2018.<ref>Eric Garcia, "Corruption Trial Begins for Former Rep. Steve Stockman", ''Roll Call'', March 19, 2018.</ref> On April 12, Stockman was convicted on twenty-three of the twenty-four felonies for which he was charged. He reaffirmed his innocence but faces potentially decades in prison. He will be sentenced on August 17 but indicated that he will appeal the verdict.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Former-U-S-Rep-Steve-Stockman-convicted-in-12821521.php|title=Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman convicted in massive fraud scheme|publisher=''The Houston Chronicle''|date=April 12, 2018|author=Gabrielle Banks|accessdate=April 13, 2018}}</ref> | + | On March 28, 2017, Stockman was [[indictment|indicted]] by a federal grand jury for an assortment of financial crimes. He is charged with having obtained $1.25 million under false pretenses from conservative donors and used that money to pay personal expenses and to underwrite his political campaigns. He faced eleven counts of money laundering, eight counts of mail and wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to make "conduit contributions" and false statements, two counts of making false statements to the [[Federal Election Commission]], one count of making excessive contributions, and another count for not disclosing his total income on his 2013 federal tax return. Stockman's trial began March 19, 2018.<ref>Eric Garcia, "Corruption Trial Begins for Former Rep. Steve Stockman", ''Roll Call'', March 19, 2018.</ref> On April 12, Stockman was convicted on twenty-three of the twenty-four felonies for which he was charged. He reaffirmed his innocence but faces potentially decades in prison. After sentencing, he will appeal the verdict.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Former-U-S-Rep-Steve-Stockman-convicted-in-12821521.php|title=Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman convicted in massive fraud scheme|publisher=''The Houston Chronicle''|date=April 12, 2018|author=Gabrielle Banks|accessdate=April 13, 2018}}</ref> |
| | + | There’s an old saying about the feds: If they want to get you, they have an unlimited budget and unlimited power to do so. Knowing what we now know in more graphic detail than ever before, are you surprised?<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wnd.com/2018/04/i-hope-trump-pardons-steve-stockman/#Y1agZRZxx1GGfMQ1.99|title=I hope Trump pardons Steve Stockman|publisher=Wnd.com|date=April 15, 2018|author=[[Joseph Farah]]|accessdate=April 16, 2018}}</ref></blockquote> |