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Oldest death row inmate in Georgia, age 72, is executed

Jesse Jackson Jr. pleads guilty in campaign case 
By FREDERIC J. FROMMER and PETE YOST | Associated Press

In a 17-page prosecution document, Jackson’s wife admitted that from mid-2006 through mid-October of last year, she failed to report $600,000 in income that she and her husband earned from 2005 to 2011.

Before entering the plea to a conspiracy charge, Jesse Jackson told U.S. District Judge Robert L. Wilkins, “I’ve never been more clear in my life” in his decision to plead guilty.

Later, when Wilkins asked if Jackson committed the acts outlined in court papers, the former congressman replied, “I did these things.” He added later, “Sir, for years I lived in my campaign,” and used money from the campaign for personal use.

“In perfect candor, your honor, I have no interest in wasting the taxpayers’ time or money,” he said.

U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen called the guilty plea “so tragic because it represents such wasted potential” and that Jackson used his campaign as “his own personal piggybank.” He said that Jackson could have been the voice of a new generation.

Machen credited Jackson for coming in early and telling the truth. “But today is his day of reckoning,” the prosecutor said.

The fraud, perpetuated over seven years, was “not a momentary lapse of judgment,” Machen said.He called Jackson’s victims the American people and said that Jackson betrayed the trust of contributors who “donated their hard-earned money.”

Machen declined to say what launched the investigation, but he said it did not stem from the House Ethics Committee investigation into Jackson’s dealings with Rod Blagojevich when he was governor. Blagojevich is serving a prison sentence for trying to sell President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat.

Since last June, Jesse Jackson has been hospitalized twice at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for treatment of bipolar disorder and other issues, and he stayed out of the public eye for months, even during the November elections. His attorney said after the court appearance that Jackson’s health is “not an excuse” for his actions, “just a fact.”

Jesse Jackson Jr., wearing a blue shirt and blue-patterned tie and dark suit, answered a series of questions from the judge, mostly in a muffled tone. When the judge asked if he had consumed any drugs or alcohol in the previous 24 hours, Jackson said he had a beer Tuesday night.

“Tell everybody back home I’m sorry I let them down, OK?” Jackson told Chicago Sun-Times Washington bureau chief Lynn Sweet, according to her Tweet from the scene.

Sandra Jackson, 49, wearing a black pantsuit, sobbed visibly during her court hearing, as her husband watched from the row behind the defense table. Sandi, as she’s known, was a Chicago alderman before she resigned last month during the federal investigation.

Jesse Jackson Jr., 47, used campaign money to buy items including a $43,350 gold-plated men’s Rolex watch and $9,587.64 worth of children’s furniture, according to court papers filed in the case. His wife spent $5,150 on fur capes and parkas, the court documents said. Under the plea deal, Jackson must forfeit $750,000, plus tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of memorabilia items and furs. Sandi Jackson must also pay $168,000 in restitution.

Among the individual purchases made with campaign credit cards:

—A $466 dinner for two of “a personal nature” at Mandarin Oriental’s CityZen restaurant.

—A washer, a dryer, a range and a refrigerator for the Jacksons’ Chicago home.

—A five-day health retreat for one of Mrs. Jackson’s relatives.

—Stuffed animals and accessories for them.

—Goods at Costco, from video games to toilet paper.

According to the prosecution’s court papers, Jackson even arranged for the use of campaign money to buy two mounted elk heads for his congressional office. Last summer, as the FBI closed in, a Jackson staffer identified only as “Person A” tried to arrange for the sale of the elk heads, but the FBI was one step ahead. The bureau had an undercover FBI employee contact the staffer, claiming to be an interior designer who had received the person’s name from a taxidermist and inquiring whether there were elk heads for sale. They agreed on a price of $5,300.

Over the years, the unidentified “Person A” provided significant help to the Jacksons in carrying out the scheme. Jackson used the aide for many different bill-paying activities, including paying construction contractors for work on Jackson’s Washington home.

Machen, the U.S. attorney, said that prosecutors could have come up with more severe charges against Sandi Jackson.

“They do have children. We’re sensitive to that,” he said. “We utilized our discretion.”

One of Jesse Jackson Jr.’s lawyers, Reid H. Weingarten, told reporters after the hearing that there’s reason for optimism.

“A man that talented, a man that devoted to public service, a man who’s done so much for so many, has another day. There will be another chapter in Jesse Jackson’s life,” he said.

Weingarten said that his client has “serious health issues. And those health issues are directly related to his present predicament. That’s not an excuse, that’s just a fact. And Jesse’s turned the corner there as well. There’s reason for optimism here too. Jesse’s gotten great treatment, he’s has great doctors, and I think he’s gotten his arms around his problem.”

As a Harvard Law School student, Wilkins said he had supported the presidential campaign of Jackson’s father and that as an attorney in 1999, Wilkins had been a guest on a show hosted by Jackson’s father.
