The infamous US$90,000 in cash found in the freezer of a former Louisiana congressman accused of taking bribes is evidence of nothing more than a failed FBI sting, a defence lawyer told jurors.
William Jefferson, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans until losing his re-election bid last year, is charged with soliciting bribes, racketeering, money laundering and other crimes. Prosecutors say he received more than US$500,000 and sought millions more in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa.
In opening statements Tuesday in US District Court, defence lawyer Robert Trout addressed at the outset what he called the "elephant in the room" - the cash that was found in the freezer in Jefferson's Washington home and captured most of the headlines associated with the case.
There's no dispute that in July 2005, FBI agents videotaped Jefferson at a northern Virginia hotel receiving a suitcase with US$100,000 in cash from a cooperating witness. The vast majority of that was found a few days later in the freezer, wrapped in aluminium foil and hidden in boxes of Pillsbury pie crust.
There is also no disputing that the money was part of an FBI sting. But there is a significant dispute as to what Jefferson intended to do with the money.
Prosecutors told the jury that Jefferson intended to use the money to pay a bribe to the then-vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, to secure a multimillion dollar telecommunications deal there.
Prosecutor Mark Lytle said that out of the numerous bribery schemes in which Jefferson was allegedly involved, his plan to pay bribes to a foreign official was "the most disturbing."
Jefferson denies the allegation. Trout said that if one accepts the government's theory of the case, the money would not have been in the freezer but in Abubakar's home in Potomac, Md. Federal agents had obtained a search warrant anticipating it would be found there.
The fact that Jefferson never paid the bribe as the FBI anticipated suggests a hole in the government's case, Trout said.
"It shows he did not bribe the vice president of Nigeria," Trout told the jury. "The evidence shows he didn't do it."
Trout admitted that Jefferson did something "really stupid" in agreeing to accept the $100,000 in cash from the cooperating witness, a northern Virginia businesswoman named Lori Mody who approached the FBI after becoming concerned that she was being cheated in business deals brokered by Jefferson.
Trout said Jefferson had constantly been badgered by Mody, at the FBI's urging, to buy off Nigerian officials to get deals done. Trout mentioned numerous times in his opening statement that Mody and Jefferson's discussions, in which Mody wore a wire for the FBI, were conducted in fancy restaurants over several glasses of wine.
"With a lot of time, and a lot of wine, they (the FBI) set out to bag a congressman," Trout said.
Jefferson told Mody that he would bribe Abubakar to put an end to her entreaties, but never actually intended to bribe anyone, said Trout, who did not explain what Jefferson intended to do with the money he accepted.
Abubakar has also denied involvement in any bribery scheme.
Lytle told the jury that Jefferson did indeed plan to bribe Abubakar, but simply failed to deliver the money because of time constraints. Abubakar had been vacationing in Bermuda and was in the US for less than 24 hours before returning to Nigeria.
Trout admitted that Jefferson was advocating business deals in Nigeria, Ghana and other parts of Africa in which his family members had a financial interest. Trout told the jury that Jefferson may have acted unethically but never broke the law.
"You may think the evidence raises ethical concerns," he said. "He is not charged with violating House ethics rules."
Lytle, in his opening statement, said Jefferson and his wife had more than US$60,000 in credit card debt, more than US$40,000 in bounced check fees and bank penalties and had been paying for Ivy League educations for his five daughters. The financial pressure may have motivated him to seek bribes.
"This case is about ... one of our government's most powerful officials using his public office for private gain repeatedly," Lytle said.
The FBI sting involving the cash that ended up in the freezer is just one part of the government's case. Prosecutors allege numerous bribery schemes involving Jefferson and multiple companies.
The investigation of Jefferson launched in March 2005 and resulted in a precedent-setting raid of Jefferson's congressional offices. Jefferson claimed that the raid of his office violated his constitutional privileges as a congressman, and a federal appeals court agreed that the manner in which agents conducted the search was inappropriate.
The exact details of what documents the government was entitled to seize in the raid were never resolved. Prosecutors received some, but not all of the documents they sought.
The trial is expected to last about a month. It is unknown whether Jefferson will take the stand in his own defence.
AP