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Schock Defends Taxpayer-Paid Trip To New York For Staffers

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois GOP Congressman Aaron Schock, once the toast of the town, courted by party leaders and powerbrokers, was confronted by reporters Monday about an ongoing ethics investigation about using taxpayer dollars on private planes.

CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports Schock initially tried to avoid taking questions on it, and he almost succeeded. The usually anxious-to-talk Peoria congressman was apparently preparing to leave by a side door, after brushing reporters off on the way in.

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Last month, a photo of a $40,000 "Downton Abbey" redo of his Capitol Hill office led to an ethics charge by an independent group.

That was followed by revelations that he billed taxpayers $1,200 for a charter flight to a Bears game at Soldier Field, which he repaid once word of it got out. But there was another $14,000 in private flights last fall on top of $40,000 worth of travel on planes owned by campaign donors.

"I acknowledged on Friday that clearly, you know, when you rent a plane, you go around your district, people can say, 'Gee, that seems out of touch,' I get it okay."

But Schock defended a trip to New York last September for the prime minister of India. Schock brought along ten staffers, all on the taxpayer.

"I'm glad that my staff was able to go and be a part of the historic event," Schock said. "Simply, I would say if that's not official, I don't know what is."

What is not going to change is Schock's use of costly private planes.

"I have the largest geographic district in the state," he said. "And so, my goal in getting around to the 205 towns that I represent is a priority for me."

He wouldn't address the Downton Abbey office, done as a gift from a friend. Schock now is paying her back with his own money.

"So look at the end of the day we're reviewing all of this and I'm focused on doing my job which is what I'm doing here today advocating on an important issue to my district and I'm going to leave it at that," he said.

The question is how the results of that review with play in Peoria and the rest of Schock's district and whether his meteoric rise to prominence in the Republican Party will be slowed or shot down by his high-flying lifestyle and spending habits with his money and ours.

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