Prosecutors weigh options after jury acquits Michael O’Donnell on most counts
After deliberating for about four hours, a federal jury on Monday acquitted Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell of 21 counts of wire fraud connected to his campaign spending — but were deadlocked on five other charges.
O’Donnell and his family shed tears as a court staff member read the “not guilty” verdicts aloud shortly after 2 p.m.
“I’m obviously very relieved. It feels good to be vindicated,” O’Donnell said as he walked away from the federal courthouse in downtown Wichita minutes after jurors handed down their decision.
One of the defense attorneys on the case, Mark Schoenhofer, called the acquittals a win.
“We’re very pleased with that result. They (the jurors) got stuck on some issues and so they weren’t able to be able to decide exactly, you know, what they should do on a few counts,” he said from the courthouse steps.
“But overall, we consider this a victory. We’re very happy with the jury and how hard they worked on this case.”
It was unclear whether O’Donnell will be retried on the five counts - three counts of money laundering counts and two of wire fraud - that had jurors split. Federal prosecutors did not announce their intent in court.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a written statement late Monday that it “is evaluating the results of the trial to determine whether to take the case to trial again on the five counts in which the jury did not reach a verdict.”
“As always, our office takes very seriously the determinations made by a jury of our citizens, and we will consider the jury’s decision here carefully in deciding next steps for our office,” U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
The 21 acquittals are connected to a series of checks O’Donnell wrote from campaign accounts in 2015 and 2016 to two friends who testified that they did nothing to earn them. O’Donnell, however, contended David Jorgensen and Jack Masterson had forgotten the work they’d done or were being paid to be on standby, an acceptable practice under the state’s campaign finance law according to an expert witness the defense called to testify.
The counts that left jurors hung — two counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering — are connected to a pair of $1,000 checks O’Donnell cut to two other friends following an Aspen ski trip. Those friends, Colby Rankin and Jonathan Dennill, told jurors they weren’t sure why O’Donnell gave them the money and then immediately asked for it back. O’Donnell claimed the checks were bonuses for previously unpaid campaign services that Rankin and Dennill used to repay personal ski trip expenses he had fronted.
U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren handed jurors the case mid-afternoon Friday after five days of testimony. But their deliberations didn’t get underway until about 10 a.m. Monday after one juror notified the court they were unable to serve and an alternate had to be called in.
The jury foreman told Melgren shortly after 2 p.m. that unanimous verdicts had been reached on some counts, but not all.
When the judge asked if more time would help, she responded: “I do not, your honor.” Other jurors agreed.
Schoenhofer said knowing how jurors were divided on the five counts might influence the government’s decision whether to pursue the case further.
Because more than 90 percent of cases end in guilty pleas, federal criminal court trials are uncommon. Acquittals are even more rare because prosecutors almost never lose.
“For almost a year now this community has thought that there was this incredible case against him — that he must have been doing something wrong,” Schoenhofer said outside of court. “The counts that there were able to decide, the jury says no. He’s not guilty.”
O’Donnell, 34, served in the Kansas Senate from 2012 to January 2017. His term on the Sedgwick County Commission began in 2017. He has continued to serve the county’s 2nd district as the federal case has played out.
“We knew all along he wasn’t guilty,” O’Donnell’s mother, Peggy O’Donnell, said.
At issue during the trial were 26 financial transactions totaling $10,500 O’Donnell had with four friends. In total, he raised $527,000 in donations during his “Michael for Kansas” and “Michael for Sedgwick County” campaigns.
Prosecutors accused O’Donnell of devising and carrying out a scheme to use donor money to buy friendships and advance his social connections, which they saw as a violation of the state law’s prohibition on personal use of campaign funds. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mona Furst and Aaron Smith told jurors the Wichita Republican wanted to be seen as “the big man” among his friends group so he showed them a good time on his campaigns’ dime.
O’Donnell’s defense attorneys, meanwhile, argued that the payments were legal and fell within accepted practices under state campaign finance law.
They called the FBI investigation that prompted O’Donnell’s grand jury indictment last May a politically motivated witch hunt meant to kill a young politician’s career.
“Michael was doing something no different that anybody else. It’s unfortunate that he was targeted and he was the guy that they went after,” Schoenhofer said, adding that he has “racked my brain for a year trying to figure out why this case was filed.”
The reason for the FBI’s investigation was never revealed at trial.
More trial coverage
Background: A summary of the issues and what to expect during the trial
Day 1: Lawyers offer jurors differing views on O’Donnell’s reason for writing checks to friends
Day 2, updates: Friend says Aspen ski trip was “winter hang out,” not bonus payment
Day 2, wrap up: Trial gives glimpse of how much O’Donnell paid friends to work on campaigns
Day 3, updates: Jurors hear from key defense witness
Day 3, wrap up: Government rests case against commissioner; O’Donnell to take witness stand Thursday
Day 4, updates: Michael O’Donnell offers character witnesses, takes the stand
Day 4, wrap up: ‘I’m not a thief. I’ve never stolen anything in my life,’ O’Donnell testifies
Day 5, updates: Prosecutors say case is about ‘access and entitlement’; defense calls it hollow, politically motivated attempt to kill O’Donnell’s career
Day 5, wrap up: Michael O’Donnell wire fraud, money laundering case in jurors’ hands
This story was originally published March 4, 2019 at 2:24 PM.
