The legal maneuvering in this case continues as trial approaches. So far, Jefferson’s attorneys haven’t been able to derail the case despite their best efforts.
By Bruce Alpert and Jonathan Tilove
New Orleans Times-Picayune
WASHINGTON — Attorneys for former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson say the Justice Department has edited secretly recorded conversations to give a “misleading impression” of their client’s guilt in his upcoming corruption trial.
A defense brief, filed with U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III, contains some previously unreleased taped conversations recorded in 2005 before Jefferson learned during an August raid of his house that he was being investigated by the FBI for allegedly seeking bribes in return for his help securing business contracts in Western Africa.
The brief provides both transcripts of the tape selections that the prosecution wants to play for the jury, as well as fuller transcripts that Jefferson’s attorneys say place his statements and actions in a fuller context. Some contain extensive profanity.
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