In opening statements today at the trial of ex-Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), defense lawyers finally offered an explanation for the $90,000 discovered by FBI agents in the congressman's freezer. The fact that agents found the money wrapped in foil and stashed in pie crust boxes was a sign that Jefferson did not intend to bribe a foreign official, said Robert Trout, a name partner at Trout Cacheris.
Trout said Lori Mody, a Virginia businesswoman working with the FBI, pressured Jefferson to take the money and use it to bribe the vice president of Nigeria in order to trap the congressman in a sting operation, but Jefferson never meant to pay the bribe and was simply hiding the money away while he went on an August 2005 vacation.
Trout did not explain what Jefferson intended to do with the money once he returned.
"The evidence will show he had no intention of bribing anybody," Trout said.
The trial is continuing this afternoon. Prosecutors have called their first witness, a former business partner of Jefferson's.
Source: Legal Times
1 comment:
I look for Dollar Bill to start naming names and let the chips fall. This story is connected to the Bush Administration and former Speaker of the House. Now will Dollar Bill fall on the sword for the Republicans who set him up? This will be interesting to follow as it hits to the heart of the Bush Administrations criminal conduct.
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