Legal News

A Cold Case: At Trial, Will Jefferson Explain the Freezer Money?

By Ashby Jones

Remember William Jefferson? He’s the former Congressman from New Orleans who in 2007 was charged on 16 counts of bribery, racketeering, and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. If these facts don’t ring a bell, try this on for size: he’s the guy who was caught with $90,000 in cash in his freezer a few years ago.

In any event, Jefferson’s trial is slated to begin today down in northern Virginia. First up, of course, selecting a jury, so it might be a day or two before opening statements. Click here and here for recent stories from the New Orleans Times-Picayune; here for a story from the USA Today.

Jefferson, 62, served nine terms in Congress before being ousted last fall. Prosecutors allege that he demanded and in some cases accepted payments to businesses owned by his family in return for his help winning approval of projects in several West African nations.

Jefferson throughout has maintained his innocence. If convicted, he would likely face up to 20 years in prison. The trial is expected to last four to six weeks.

According to the Times-Picayune, the prosecutors, led by Mark Lytle, say the government has overwhelming evidence that Jefferson used his congressional office to help promote business projects in western Africa in return for payments for his family. But Jefferson’s legal team, led by Washington lawyer Robert Trout of Trout Cacheris, argues that the government’s case has a major flaw: none of the actions he is alleged to have taken relate to his official duties, such as voting or introducing legislation.

At some point in all this, the jury and public is likely to receive the long-promised “honorable explanation” from Jefferson or his attorneys on why the $90,000 was found in the congressman’s freezer.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on June 09, 2009 (boomark / email).