By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 25, 2008

RICHMOND, Sept. 24 -- Nearly all of the corruption charges against U.S. Rep. William J. Jefferson should be dismissed because prosecutors improperly presented evidence of his legislative activities to a grand jury, attorneys for the Louisiana Democrat told a federal appeals court Wednesday.

The lawyers argued that such evidence violated the Constitution's "speech or debate" clause, which protects members of Congress from being questioned by the executive branch and others about their legislative work. The issue has delayed the trial of Jefferson, who faces a 16-count indictment on bribery and other charges.

A federal judge in Alexandria rejected Jefferson's argument that 14 counts should be dismissed because of the constitutional dispute, prompting Jefferson's appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.

Prosecutors told a three-judge panel Wednesday that they had carefully stayed away from Jefferson's work on bills and other legislative matters and that the indictment centered on bribes the congressman solicited for non-legislative "constituent services."

"We certainly respect a member of Congress's right to not have legislative material used against him," Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark D. Lytle said as he urged the judges to uphold the lower court ruling.

Jefferson, 61, a former co-chairman of the congressional caucuses on Nigeria and African trade, was arrested last year on corruption charges that included soliciting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes for himself and his family, falsely reporting trips to Africa as official business and seeking to bribe the Nigerian vice president.

The indictment, which came after a lengthy FBI investigation that provoked debate about the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches, said Jefferson had stowed $90,000 in his home freezer, wrapped in aluminum foil and concealed inside frozen-food containers.

Jefferson's trial had been scheduled for February in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Defense attorneys sought to throw out all of the indictment's bribery-related counts, arguing that grand jury testimony by Jefferson's legislative aides -- particularly about his work on a trade bill known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act -- violated the constitutional provision.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III ruled in February that prosecutors had presented no material "integral to defendant's consideration or vote upon any piece of legislation."

"Put simply, the Speech or Debate Clause is not a license to commit crime," Ellis wrote.

If the 4th Circuit overturns Ellis's ruling and dismisses the 14 counts, prosecutors could empanel a new grand jury and charge Jefferson again. If they chose to forge ahead with the trial, Jefferson would still face charges that he obstructed justice and violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars bribery of foreign officials. Jefferson is the first U.S. official charged with violating that act.