Representative William Jefferson has been granted a reprieve of sorts. A federal appeals court has ruled that Department of Justice investigators cannot begin looking over the materials seized from Jefferson's congressional office until the lawmaker is given the opportunity to review the taken documents and challenge in court their availability under the speech or debate clause.
In the decision on Friday, the appeals court ordered the government to provide Mr. Jefferson with copies of all the documents and computer records seized from his office. Within two days of receipt of the material, the order said, Mr. Jefferson will be allowed to approach a trial court judge to argue that "specific documents or records are legislative in nature" and should be withheld permanently from prosecutors.
If Federal District Court Judge Thomas Hogan, who thus far has not shown himself to be sympathetic to Jefferson's arguments, agrees with the lawmaker that the documents pertain to legislative matters, then federal investigators would be barred from examining them.
Also regarding the Jefferson case: Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar has denied a role in the bribery scheme Jefferson is accused of. Vice President Abubakar is running for President of Nigeria.
You are not logged in.
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account just by filling out the form below. It's quick and free.
