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By Vladimir Posted in $90000 | Congress | IN HIS FREEZER!! | William Jefferson — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Way cleared for Congressman Jefferson's appeal

Every man is entitled to his day in court. It's time Rep. William Jefferson of New Orleans, now the dean of Louisiana's congressional delegation and Superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, had his.

The issue that is under appeal is whether it was proper to question Jefferson's staffers as part of the grand jury inquiry into his, um, alleged ethical shortcomings. As I understand it, the case against him is not built upon the testimony of his staff; rather, a key piece of evidence seems to be the wads of FBI cash that were wrapped in Saran Wrap and stuffed into frozen green bean boxes in his freezer. No, the testimony of the staff was used to establish that Congressman Jefferson had been active in African trade legislation back in the 1990's, which supports, but is not central to the prosecution's case.

But when you're a Congressman trying to keep a death-grip on that sugar teat of a job and the local, state and national influence that goes along with it, prosecutorial abuse such as that suffered by the intrepid Congressman challenges the sacred principle of separation of powers that our country was founded upon, your honor, yes, even our beloved Constitution itself!

Blah, blah, blah, yaketa-schmaketa. More below the fold. Emphasis gleefully added.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III about grand jury documents is likely to free the Justice Department to ask the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., for expedited consideration of the New Orleans Democrat's appeal and allow that court to set dates for the filings of briefs and possibly for oral arguments.

Still, the appeal, which delayed the scheduled Feb. 25 criminal trial in Alexandria, Va., is likely to take at least several months and could continue through the fall elections when Jefferson could be a candidate for re-election. Jefferson's trial can't start until the Appeals Court rules on his appeal.

The congressman faces 16 charges stemming from his involvement in business ventures in West Africa. The government alleges that Jefferson, through companies run by his family, received nearly $400,000 in bribes and millions of shares of company stock for using his influence to promote contracts for U.S. companies in Nigeria and other African nations. Jefferson maintains his innocence.

At issue before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals is Jefferson's contention that Ellis erred when he rejected the congressman's plea to have 14 charges of racketeering, money laundering, bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy dismissed on grounds the grand jury that indicted him heard testimony about his legislative activities in violation of the Constitution's Speech or Debate clause. The clause is meant to protect Congress from Executive Branch interference.

Ellis had ruled that the testimony from current and former Jefferson staffers about his involvement in issues related to Africa didn't violate the Speech or Debate Clause. "Put simply, the Speech or Debate Clause is not a license to commit a crime, " he said.