Jefferson jury selection complete
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WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors and defense lawyers in the public corruption trial of former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson picked a jury Thursday with opening statements scheduled for Tuesday.
The 12-member panel contains eight women and four men. Four of the jurors are black.
The racial makeup of the jury was an issue at the outset of the case when Jefferson asked that the venue of the trial be changed from Alexandria, Va., to Washington, D.C. Jefferson would have had a larger pool of prospective black jurors in Washington, D.C.
Prosecutors filed the case in Virginia, where they claim Jefferson took bribes from a businesswoman. Jefferson’s attorney argued the case should be tried in Washington, where Jefferson had his congressional office. The request was denied by the judge, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III.
The 100-member jury pool was winnowed down to 45 by midday Thursday. Prosecutors were given the opportunity to strike eight of the jury members. Defense attorneys were given 12 strikes.
During the morning, Ellis interviewed prospective jurors individually. Many said they had heard about the case and about money in the freezer, which one potential juror referred to as “cold cash.”
Jefferson has pleaded innocent to 16 charges including bribery, conspiracy, racketeering and money laundering. Government prosecutors said the 18-year veteran of Congress from New Orleans pushed business projects in West Africa in return for payments to himself and family members.
The Virginia businesswoman, Lori Mody, cooperated with the FBI investigation and gave Jefferson $100,000 the government said was to bribe the vice president of Nigeria. Mody wore a wire and recorded conversations with Jefferson. Agents raided Jefferson’s Washington home and found $90,000 of the money in the freezer.
Ellis told prospective jurors they should disregard any news accounts or information they obtained of the case. Ellis said the outcome of the case should be determined solely on the evidence in court.
“I know that no one can vacuum clean their memory,” Ellis said.
One of the prospective witnesses for Jefferson is former U.S. Rep. Jim McCrery. The Shreveport Republican may testify as an expert witness in behalf of the defense. Jefferson has maintained that he operated as a private businessman in his dealings with the projects.
McCrery, who sat on the House Ways and Means Committee with Jefferson, would testify as to what is constituent services, according to court records.
Jefferson contends he never sold his office for the companies, claiming that he never committed official acts such as introducing legislation or casting a vote.
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