Jefferson to be tried in Virginia federal court

Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) corruption trial will occur in an Alexandria, Va., federal courthouse but is unlikely to begin until next year.

U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III scheduled the trial to start on Dec. 2. However, he said the date is a marker and the trial would likely occur weeks or even months later.

{mosads}“It’s very likely that it won’t be Dec. 2,” Ellis said in court Friday. “We’ll cross those bridges when we come to them.”

The judge set the date after he rejected a second argument from Jefferson’s legal counsel for a change of venue. The lawyers wanted the case to be tried in Washington, D.C., because there is likely to be fewer black jurors in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Jefferson’s lawyers had cited a 7-2 Supreme Court ruling in March that ordered a new trial for convicted murder Allen Snyder of Louisiana because there was evidence that a prospective juror was excluded from the all-white jury for racial reasons.

They argued that Ellis made his initial ruling against a transfer of venue without demanding that the Justice Department answer questions about how the racial makeup of the area affected the chosen venue.

But Ellis said the Snyder ruling dealt with jury selection, not venue, and would require a “radical transformation of [the established] jury selection process” if applied to the Jefferson case.  

“I doubt the law requires it, and I don’t think it’s sensible,” Ellis said.

Jefferson faces a 16-count indictment accusing him of orchestrating a multi-layered scheme to receive bribes from companies seeking business in western Africa. He has repeatedly denied the charges and has vowed to fight them.

The judge said he needed more time to consider a separate motion from Jefferson’s legal team. They have asked Ellis to force the depositions of two people in Nigeria who were listed as co-conspirators in the indictment. They want Justice officials to use a mutual legal assistance treaty between the U.S. and Nigeria to obtain pretrial depositions of Nigeria’s former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, and businessman Suleiman Yahyah.

The two men have refused the defense team’s request to come voluntarily. Abubakar’s wife, Jennifer Douglas Abubakar, who also is listed as a co-conspirator in the indictment, is a U.S. citizen, however, and could be subpoenaed even though she is living in Nigeria and has said she doesn’t want to testify voluntarily.

Ellis said he is troubled by the prospect of allowing the co-conspirators to make sworn statements overseas where they are immune to any legal action taken by the U.S.

“To allow unindicted co-conspirators to be called on to testify with complete immunity from the process of this court … gives me a queasy feeling,” he said.

Ellis will rule on that motion at a later date.