Legal News

Trial Ends in Jefferson Case; Jury to Get Case Thursday

By Ashby Jones

Game-time. Gut-check time. It’s getting down to that time for former Rep. William Jefferson, who, for the past six weeks has been on criminal trial down in Alexandria, Va. Closing arguments wrapped up on Wednesday. The judge in the case, T.S. Ellis III, is likely to send the case to the jury Thursday morning. Click here for the story from the New Orleans Times-Picayune; here for earlier LB posts on the Jefferson trial.

The quick refresher on the case. In 2007, Jefferson, a former Democrat from New Orleans, was charged on 16 counts of bribery, racketeering, and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The government alleged that Jefferson used his congressional office to help promote business projects in western Africa in return for payments for his family. The most vivid evidence put on display: that feds found in Jefferson’s freezer $90,000 stuffed in Boca Burger and pie-crust boxes.

During closings, government lawyer Rebeca Bellows said: “It’s time, at long last, to bring Congressman Jefferson to justice . . . He was always looking for a payday. He not only sold his office he wanted to make sure he got top dollar for it.”

According to reporting from the WSJ’s Dionne Searcey, defense attorney Robert Trout countered that Jefferson’s behavior was perhaps unethical and even stupid but not criminal. "To make something that isn't criminal into a crime, ladies and gentleman, that is power," Trout told jurors.

But before Trout took the stand, according to Searcey, prosecutors on Wednesday outlined a number of schemes Jefferson crafted to use his political office to create business opportunities for his family. The most notorious: an alleged plot to give at least $100,000 in cash to the vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, in exchange for permission for a company that had family ties to Jefferson to offer telecom services there. Much of that cash — $90,000 in marked bills — was found in Jefferson’s freezer.

During Wednesday's hearing prosecutors played video and audio tapes of Jefferson in meetings with the informant, Virginia businesswoman Lori Mody, at swanky Washington-area hotel restaurants. Searcey describes one snippet in which he camera focuses squarely on a white coffee mug while in the background Jefferson waves his hands as he talks about an alleged bribe, saying it'll be doled out "to make sure the hook is in there." Over dinner at the Mandarin Oriental he chides Mody for referring to what prosecutors say is a bribe to the vice president of Nigeria as a "goodwill present."

Mody delivered $100,000 to Jefferson in the parking lot of the Ritz Carlton. Jefferson allegedly intended to give the cash to Abubakar during a visit to Washington D.C. but he left town before it could be delivered, prosecutors said.

Trout conceded that Mr. Jefferson agreed to the bribe but did so only to please Ms. Mody and that he never intended to deliver it. He hid the cash in his freezer for safe-keeping, Trout said.

We’ll the jury buy it? We’ll soon know.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on July 29, 2009 (boomark / email).