Thread by @wrongformat

@MLeeBaxter1 @littlejackie66 @kyledcheney 1) Judge Amy was appointed to the bench by President Obama in 2011. "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 112th Congress – 1st Session". senate.gov.

@MLeeBaxter1 @littlejackie66 @kyledcheney 2) Ms. Jackson "... has appeared as an expert legal commenter on NBC, MSNBC, Fox News, CNN and local television stations." web.archive.org/web/2010020413…

I'll admit, I have a thing about TV celebrity lawyers. Especially those who make a point to mention their TVQ in their official bio.

@MLeeBaxter1 @littlejackie66 @kyledcheney 3) Defense attorneys, especially, too often seek to argue the cases for their clients on TV. Ms. Jackson represented some very high-profile defendants, most notably Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-LA), who was convicted in federal court on 11 counts of bribery & corruption.

@MLeeBaxter1 @littlejackie66 @kyledcheney 4) "Jefferson ... was originally convicted for accepting money to ... lobby for business deals for certain individuals and companies in African countries. Jefferson co-chaired the Africa Trade & Investment Caucus & the Congressional Caucus on Nigeria during his time in the House.

@MLeeBaxter1 @littlejackie66 @kyledcheney 5) "During the investigation that led to his conviction, FBI officials famously found $90,000 in cash stashed in his freezer." Roll Call (5/7/18)

"Amy Jackson, one of Jefferson’s attorneys, likened ... the government’s conspiracy charges to a 'rimless wheel'" The Hill (10/12/07)

@MLeeBaxter1 @littlejackie66 @kyledcheney 6) "While they may have a common hub, i.e. Jefferson, and several different spokes representing the various alleged schemes, there was 'no overlap of participants.
There is no allegation that these various businesses had anything to do with each other,” (Jackson) stated.

@MLeeBaxter1 @littlejackie66 @kyledcheney 7) "(Judge T.S. Ellis III) interrupted several times during Jackson’s argument, at one point instructing her to drop the rhetoric because 'it doesn’t help much,' and ...

“'When I speak you have to cease. You need to pay attention to what I don’t understand,' he said.

@MLeeBaxter1 @littlejackie66 @kyledcheney 8) "Jackson, the defense attorney, also argued that the bribery charges did not meet the legal holding of several precedent-setting cases because Jefferson was not acting an official capacity, but instead as a private businessman so there was no 'official act' involved.

@MLeeBaxter1 @littlejackie66 @kyledcheney 9) "The judge ... interrupted, asking whether a member of Congress who calls the INS to speed a constituent’s citizenship application would be committing bribery if he took $100,000 from that constituent to do so.

“'Why isn’t that an action or act?' Ellis asked.

@MLeeBaxter1 @littlejackie66 @kyledcheney 10) "The defense team also has sought to have Jefferson’s statements to FBI agents the day they raided his home suppressed, & to have evidence seized from his home & congressional office excluded from trial. (He claims) the raid of his congressional office was unconstitutional."

@MLeeBaxter1 @littlejackie66 @kyledcheney 11) "Jackson said it would not meet the statutory requirements for bribery because the act was constituent services and not legislative in nature.

"... prosecutors read from Jefferson’s official House website: “The most important thing we do is provide constituent services.”

@MLeeBaxter1 @littlejackie66 @kyledcheney @threadreaderapp unroll 1) Judge Amy

@MLeeBaxter1 @littlejackie66 @kyledcheney 12) "'We think using influence is not a bribe. We must apply the law as it is written, not as the Department of Justice wants it to be read or ... not even as a commonsense interpretation of right or wrong might think it should be read." -- Amy Jackson Associated Press (10/12/07)