U.S. v. Jefferson

Citation546 F.3d 300
Decision Date12 November 2008
Docket NumberNo. 08-4215.,08-4215.
PartiesUNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. William J. JEFFERSON, Defendant-Appellant. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Amicus Supporting Appellee.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit)
546 F.3d 300
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
William J. JEFFERSON, Defendant-Appellant.

[546 F.3d 301]

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Amicus Supporting Appellee.
No. 08-4215.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Argued: September 24, 2008.
Decided: November 12, 2008.

[546 F.3d 302]

ARGUED: Robert P. Trout, Trout Cacheris, P.L.L.C., Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Mark D. Lytle, Office of the United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Amy Berman Jackson, Gloria B. Solomon, Trout Cacheris, P.L.L.C., Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney, David B. Goodhand, Assistant United States Attorney, Rebeca H. Bellows, Assistant United States Attorney, Charles E. Duross, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee. Melanie Sloan, Anne Weismann, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Supporting Appellee.

Before NIEMEYER, KING, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge KING wrote the opinion, in which Judge NIEMEYER and Judge DUNCAN joined.

OPINION

KING, Circuit Judge:


By way of this interlocutory appeal, Congressman William J. Jefferson seeks relief from the district court's denial of his motion to dismiss a pending indictment (the "Indictment"). See United States v. Jefferson, 534 F.Supp.2d 645 (E.D.Va. 2008) (the "Opinion"). Jefferson contends — as the essential premise of his appeal — that the grand jury was improperly presented with evidence of his legislative acts and that such evidence was relevant to its decision to indict. He asserts that the Indictment thus contravenes the legislative immunity provided to him by the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution, see U.S. Const. art. I, § 6, cl. 1, and must be dismissed. As explained below, we reject this contention and affirm.

I.
A.

Congressman Jefferson, who represents Louisiana's Second Congressional District,

546 F.3d 303

was indicted on June 4, 2007, by a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia. The Indictment charges Jefferson with participating in multiple schemes and related offenses. In such alleged schemes, Jefferson solicited and received bribes from various persons and business entities. In exchange, he promoted their products and services to government officials in Africa. Specifically, the Indictment alleges two separate conspiracy offenses, each in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, plus fourteen substantive offenses.1

The facts alleged in the Indictment reflect seven separate bribery schemes. In its Opinion of February 13, 2008, declining to dismiss the Indictment, the district court summarized the various bribery schemes. We are satisfied to adopt that summary, which is as follows:

First, the indictment alleges that defendant solicited bribes from Vernon Jackson, president of iGate, Incorporated (iGate), a Louisville, Kentucky-based telecommunications firm, to promote iGate's telecommunications technology in certain African countries. In return for payments of money and iGate shares to the ANJ Group, L.L.C. (ANJ), a Louisiana limited liability company ostensibly controlled and managed by defendant's spouse, Andrea Jefferson, defendant allegedly sent letters on official letterhead, conducted official travel, and met with foreign government officials to promote the use of iGate's technology.

Second, the indictment alleges that defendant solicited bribes from Netlink Digital Television (Netlink), a Nigerian corporation that was pursuing a telecommunications venture in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. In return for a share of revenue, stocks, and fees from Netlink, defendant allegedly performed various official acts including meeting with Nigerian government officials to promote Netlink's business.

Third, the indictment alleges that defendant induced Lori Mody, an Alexandria, Virginia-based businesswoman, to finance a telecommunications project in Africa using iGate's technology. Defendant allegedly solicited bribes from Mody in the form of shares in W2-IBBS, a Nigerian company formed by Mody to pursue the Nigerian telecommunications project, as well as money to be paid to defendant's family members. In return for these bribes, defendant allegedly used his office to promote W2-IBBS's interests in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. Defendant also allegedly solicited bribes in the form of shares in IBBS, a Ghanian company formed by Mody to pursue the telecommunications project in that country. In return, defendant allegedly sent letters on official letterhead, conducted official travel to Ghana, and met with Ghanian government officials to promote Mody's, IBBS's, and W2-IBBS's interests in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa. The indictment also alleges that to advance this bribery scheme, defendant introduced Mody to officials of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (ExIm Bank) to assist Mody in securing financial assistance. Defendant and Mody also allegedly discussed bribing Nigerian government officials to facilitate the W2-IBBS telecommunications

546 F.3d 304

project. It is further alleged that defendant then met with and offered to bribe Atiku Abubakar, who was then the Vice President of Nigeria. And, according to the indictment, defendant received $ 100,000 in cash from Mody for the purpose of paying Abubakar a bribe.

Fourth, the indictment alleges that defendant solicited and received bribes from businessman George Knost and from Arkel International, Inc., Arkel Sugar, Inc., and Arkel Oil and Gas, Inc. In return for the bribes, defendant allegedly performed various official acts, including meeting with officials of the Ex-Im Bank to promote an Arkel Sugar project in Nigeria and meeting with Nigerian government officials to promote the interests of Arkel Oil and Gas.

Fifth, the indictment alleges that defendant solicited and received bribes from businessman John Melton and from TDC Energy Overseas, Inc. (TDC). In return for these bribes, defendant allegedly performed various official acts, including meeting with Nigerian government officials to promote TDC's interests in Nigeria and meeting with officials of the United States Trade Development Agency (USTDA) to encourage the USTDA to grant TDC financial assistance for TDC's Nigerian oil field project.

Sixth, the indictment alleges that defendant, through an intermediary, lobbyist James Creaghan, solicited bribes from businesswoman Noreen Wilson in return for which defendant used his office to assist in resolving a dispute over oil exploration rights in the waters off Sao Tome and Principe. It is alleged that defendant received payments from Wilson, via Creaghan, either directly or through a nominee company.

Seventh, the indictment alleges that defendant solicited and received bribes from Life Energy Technology Holdings (LETH), a Delaware corporation engaged in the business of manufacturing and distributing energy-related technology. In return for these bribes, it is alleged that defendant traveled in his official capacity to Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and Sao Tome and Principe and met with government officials in those countries to promote LETH's technology to those government officials.

United States v. Jefferson, 534 F.Supp.2d 645, 647-48 (E.D.Va.2008).

B.

On September 7, 2007, three months after the grand jury returned the Indictment, Jefferson filed a motion requesting that the district court review the grand jury materials and dismiss the Indictment (the "Motion"). The Motion was predicated upon Jefferson's belief and contention that the grand jury had considered testimony that contravened his rights under the Speech or Debate Clause.2

More specifically, according to the Motion, Jefferson was concerned that the grand jury may have considered evidence from Brett Pfeffer, a former Jefferson staffer who had pleaded guilty to related charges and was cooperating with the prosecution. After the prosecution provided Jefferson with recorded statements involving Pfeffer and another cooperating witness, Jefferson surmised that Pfeffer

546 F.3d 305

was "extensively involved in the activities underlying the indictment." J.A. 124.3 Jefferson thus suspected that Pfeffer had testified before the grand jury, that his testimony referenced Jefferson's legislative activities, that Pfeffer's recorded statements had been presented to the grand jury, and that other current or former staffers had likewise provided grand jury testimony regarding Jefferson's legislative activities. As a result, Jefferson requested that all grand jury materials be provided to his lawyers so they could assess whether evidence of his privileged legislative acts had been presented to the grand jury. He also requested the district court to review and assess in camera all grand jury transcripts. In that respect, he asserted that, if evidence relating to his legislative acts had been so presented, and if such acts were relevant to the grand jury's decision to indict, the court was obliged to dismiss the Indictment.

In response to the Motion, the prosecution denied that the grand jury had heard or considered any Speech or Debate Clause material. Nevertheless, "[o]ut of an abundance of caution and as a result of the claims set forth in the defendant's Motion," the prosecution took steps to assuage Jefferson's concerns. J.A. 151. First, the United States Attorney informed Jefferson that Pfeffer had not testified before the grand jury, and that the prosecution had not presented Pfeffer's recorded statements to the grand jury. Second, the prosecutors made available to Jefferson more than 600 pages of grand jury transcripts — specifically, testimony provided by his current and former congressional staffers.4

Jefferson's lawyers then reviewed and analyzed the grand jury transcripts made available to them. After so doing, Jefferson identified three...

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  • U.S. v. Renzi
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • June 23, 2011
    ...the first three of Renzi's claims to the extent each pertains to the viability of the indictment itself. See United States v. Jefferson, 546 F.3d 300, 309 (4th Cir.2008); United States v. McDade, 28 F.3d 283, 288–89 (3d Cir.1994) (Alito, J.). Renzi's remaining claim—that the district court ......
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1 books & journal articles
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    • United States
    • Georgetown Law Journal No. 110-Annual Review, August 2022
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    ...on Speech or Debate Clause grounds immediately appealable); U.S. v. Menendez, 831 F.3d 155, 164 (3d Cir. 2016) (same); U.S. v. Jefferson, 546 F.3d 300, 309 (4th Cir. 2008) (same); U.S. v. Renzi, 651 F.3d 1012, 1019 (9th Cir. 2011) (same); U.S. v. Tucker, 745 F.3d 1054, 1064 (10th Cir. 2014)......

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