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Closing Arguments in the Trial of William Jefferson (D-LA)

Defense Attorney Robert Trout, to the jury: ?Democracy is you. And we put our trust in you.\"

By: Steve Maley (Diary)  |  July 30th, 2009 at 09:04 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

For some reason, the New Orleans Times-Picayune has no coverage. Today’s coverage courtesy the Baton Rouge Advocate.

Jury to weigh corruption charges against Jefferson

For the prosecution:

“[Jefferson] betrayed his office in ways too numerous to count,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebeca Bellows said. “He lined his pockets with cash.” …

“Congressman Jefferson not only sold his office,” Bellows said. “He wanted to make sure he got top dollar.”

For the defense:

“This was a completely legitimate business transaction,” [Defense Attorney Robert] Trout said. “That’s what this case is all about, it’s about the government’s ability to turn something that is not a crime into a crime.”

“Ladies and gentleman, that’s power,” said Trout, who repeated the phrase through his defense argument. …

Trout told the jury that Jefferson has paid a huge price from the accusations. His congressional career is ruined, his family is tarnished and he has become a “national joke.” Trout’s voice cracked and tears welled up in his eyes as he made his final pitch to the jury.

“Democracy is you,” Trout said. “And we put our trust in you.”

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COMMENTS

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  • JadedByPolitics
  • Achance

    What do you think the verdict will be?

    • http://web.mac.com/mayo99/iWeb/Site/VladBlog/VladBlog.html Vladimir

      They hardly put up a defense.

      Jefferson did not take the stand.

      His defense is that he intended to steal the money, and not pass it on as a bribe.

      He’s got a well-documented shakedown racket going on that involves his wife, 5 daughters, brother, brother’s main squeeze, sister, niece, and on and on.

      All of the above enjoy income from no-work “consulting” arrangements, with the revenue flowing to shell companies that have zero operating expenses.

      He’s trying to say he was acting as a private businessman, but he traveled to Africa as a Congressman. Every single letter he wrote carried the designation “Member of Congress”.

      • bk

        Trout’s defense all along was that Jefferson was a crook who stole money hand over fist, but that he should be found not guilty because he didn’t sell his vote in Congress. Now in closing he says the thefts were legitimate business transactions. Didn’t he just undo his whole defense??

  • http://web.mac.com/mayo99/iWeb/Site/VladBlog/VladBlog.html Vladimir

    Trout wasn’t entirely original:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLHFdduVDVg

    • bk

       

  • redtillimdead

    I will be so POd. BUT, maybe that would be good. We could get lucky and see Cao vs Jefferson next year, and I think that Cao might have a better chance against Jefferson

  • dennism

    …as a tactic. By resting, the defense is telling the jury “we don’t think they proved their case.” It’s often effective.

    Who’s gonna win and who’s gonna lose was pretty much decided at the point in time the jury was impaneled. Twelve people of average ignorance. Any defense lawyer worth his salt will make sure that people that he thinks are analytical will get excluded. And the defense generally has enough pre-emptory challenges to make sure that analytical types like accountants and engineers don’t get impaneled.