Court upholds indictment of Jefferson in bribery case

A federal appeals court upheld bribery and other charges against Louisiana Democratic U.S. Rep. William J. Jefferson yesterday, clearing the way for a trial.

Jefferson, who won a primary last week and is expected to win re-election easily, had sought to dismiss a 16-count indictment charging him with taking bribes, laundering money and misusing his congressional office for business dealings in Africa.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond rejected Jefferson's claims that a federal grand jury received evidence that violated his constitutional right to legislative immunity.

Jefferson's attorneys argued that three staffers should not have been allowed to tell the grand jury about Jefferson's relationships with African leaders and his knowledge about West African nations, because those activities were part of his legislative duties.

Jefferson can appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Prosecutors contend Jefferson used his influence as chairman of the congressional Africa Investment and Trade Caucus to broker deals in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and other African nations on behalf of those who bribed him.

The 2007 indictment alleges that Jefferson received more than $500,000 in bribes and demanded millions more from 2000 to 2005, including $90,000 he received from an FBI informant that later was found in the freezer of his Washington home. He has pleaded not guilty.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III had refused to dismiss the indictment, saying Jefferson was trying to apply the legislative immunity clause so broadly that it would be virtually impossible to charge a congressman with a crime.

Ellis "accorded Congressman Jefferson every substantive and procedural protection to which he was entitled," the appeals court judges wrote.

If convicted of all charges, Jefferson faces up to 235 years in prison.