by Mark Silva
For all those jokes about former Rep. William Jefferson's frozen assets, the Louisiana Democrat's lawyer maintains there is a simple explanation.
"The money in the freezer was not a bribe," attorney Robert Trout said of the $90,000 in cold cash that the former congressman had in his freezer. "He was looking to hide the cash so that it would not be found by his housekeeper" or an intruder.
Jefferson, 62, is accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and unlawfully using his office to promote business deals to benefit his family. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each of 16 counts including soliciting bribes, racketeering, money laundering and obstructing justice. His trial in federal court in Alexandria, Va., opened today, more than three years after he was charged and almost four years after investigators reported finding a lot of money on ice in the congressman's home.
Jefferson's lawyer claims that he was the victim of an elaborate FBI sting, and the fact that he never gave the cash to a Nigerian official, as the government contends he planned to do, is evidence of his innocence.
"With a lot of time, and a lot of wine, they set out to bag a congressman," Trout said. "William Jefferson did not take a bribe, did not solicit a bribe, did not conspire to take a bribe. He is not guilty of any of the charges, period."
Prosecutors told a different tale in opening arguments today: Jefferson was more than $60,000 in debt during the time that he is accused of concocting a series of bribery schemes. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lytle suggested that Jefferson's debts may have motivated him to seek bribes. In addition to $62,000 in credit card debt, Lytle said Jefferson and his wife had about $40,000 in bounced check fees and other penalties on their bank accounts.
The trial is set to last a month.
Comments
At least the Dem voters get rid of their crooks, that's more than I can say for the Karl Rove Wingnut gang on the other side of the isle - David Vitter.
That is, unless the family values Republican clowns are going to change their platform and make soliciting prostitution a new "family value".
.
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/56689/
Posted by: Elephant Herder | June 16, 2009 4:50 PM
Elephant Herder,
Another family values Repug bit the dust today.
"Senator John Ensign, Republican of Nevada, on Tuesday admitted that he had an extramarital affair with a member of his campaign staff.
Mr. Ensign led the Republicans’ campaign efforts in 2008 and had been contemplating a run for president in 2012."
.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/senator-ensign-admits-extramarital-affair/
Posted by: Gina S | June 16, 2009 8:14 PM
And in news that you'd never hear about if Bruce and Geographically Ignorant Little Johnnie D had their way with the media:
Sen. Ensign admits affair with ex-campaign staffer
Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, a leading conservative mentioned as a potential presidential candidate, admitted Tuesday he had an extramarital affair with a woman who was a member of his campaign staff. "Last year I had an affair. I violated the vows of my marriage," Ensign said at a brief news conference. "It is the worst thing I have ever done in my life. If there was ever anything in my life that I could take back, this would be it."
Ensign spokesman Tory Mazzola said the affair took place between December 2007 and August 2008 with a campaign staffer who was married to an employee in Ensign's Senate office. Neither has worked for the senator since May 2008.
Posted by: BC | June 16, 2009 8:47 PM
I see Perpetually Ignorant BC has chimed in with his nonsense again, and the so-called Elephant Herder. Mr or Mrs. Herder you claim the Democrats get rid of their crooks and use William Jefferson as an example. Is that why Jefferson won the Democratic primary in his district only to lose in the general election? Will the Democrats get rid of Chris Dudd? Seems the voted Marion Barry back in as DC mayor. Or how about Ted Kennedy? When was he ever voted out? Or Barney Frank? Or let's look at Illinois politics here. Todd Stroger -- elected. Daley -- elected and re-elected and re-elected and so on. Blago re-elected. Michael Madigan -- re-elected time and time again. Should I go on?
And, Mr. Silva, when are you going to cover the Durbin stock windfall story? The Sun-Times did, what about the LIBune? And, if you do cover, will you whitewash it and apologize for Durbin?
Posted by: John D | June 16, 2009 10:06 PM
And, Mr. Silva, when are you going to cover the Durbin stock windfall story? The Sun-Times did, what about the LIBune? And, if you do cover, will you whitewash it and apologize for Durbin?
Posted by: John D | June 16, 2009 10:06 PM
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I don't know, maybe because unlike you, Mark Silva isn't dumber than a bag of rocks, and he likes to collect facts before he reports?
"Durbin didn’t capitalize on anything Paulson and Bernanke told congressional leaders at the Sept. 18 meeting. Whatever information Paulson gave lawmakers wasn’t secret or classified and was disclosed publicly the next day, Shoemaker said."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aQyYKbwMItyc
Posted by: janet | June 16, 2009 11:33 PM
Oh Dumb Dumb Janet, I love how you pull Durbin spokesman Shoemaker's comments from the article. That is sooo Chicago LIBune (see Frank James using Harry Reid press releases as a defense and proff that Illegal Land Deals Reid never did anything wrong).
I prefer to note the first few paragraphs in which Durbin sold tens of thousands of dollars of stocks after meeting with Paulsen and Bernanke and right before all hell broke loose last fall. Just a coincidence?
As for Silva, he's used even less information to lambast those who's views he does not agree with.
Posted by: John D | June 17, 2009 10:48 AM