Jefferson’s account of raid contrasts FBI agent’s
By Susan Crabtree
Posted: 01/17/08 04:13 PM
Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) testified in open court for the first time Thursday in the wide-ranging corruption case against him, and his account of the events that took place during a raid on his New Orleans home differed from what FBI agents had previously testified.
Jefferson argued that he was coerced and was not read his Miranda rights during an interview that preceded the August 3, 2005, raid on his home. The lawmaker claimed the FBI used intimidating tactics, noting that an agent followed him and watched him while he was in the bathroom.
He also testified that agent Tim Thibault at one point toward the end of the interview yelled at him: “Where is my god damn money.” The same day, $90,000 was recovered in the freezer of Jefferson’s D.C. residence.
At that point, the lawmaker testified that he ended the interview and told agents that he did not want to discuss the matter further.
Thursday’s testimony took place at a pretrial hearing in Alexandria, Va., in which Jefferson was trying to suppress evidence collected during the FBI search.
The lawmaker also disputed a claim that prosecutors made in a previous hearing about what he said after he viewed a DVD of himself accepting a briefcase from cooperating witness Lori Mody in the parking lot of the Ritz Carlton hotel in Pentagon City, Va.. Prosecutors previously said that, after viewing the DVD, Jefferson slumped in his chair and said: “What a waste.”
But on Thursday, Jefferson stated his comment was: “What a waste of time.” He added that he was willing to explain the comment but the judge stopped the line of questioning.
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http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/jeffersons-account-offers-stark-contrast-from-fbi-agents-2008-01-17.html
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