Politics
Jesse Jackson Jr., and wife charged in misuse of campaign money
The prosecutors’ court filing said that upon conviction, Jackson must forfeit US$750,000, plus tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of memorabilia items and furs. The memorabilia includes a football signed by U.S. presidents, a Michael Jackson and Eddie Van Halen guitar, a Michael Jackson fedora, Martin Luther King Jr. memorabilia, Malcolm X memorabilia, Jimi Hendrix memorabilia and Bruce Lee memorabilia — all from a company called Antiquities of Nevada.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to US$250,000, and other penalties. U.S. District Judge Robert L. Wilkins is assigned to the case.
Tom Kirsch, an attorney for Jackson’s wife said she has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and would plead guilty to one tax count.
Kirsch said his client and her husband have supported each other. He said the episode has been stressful for Sandi Jackson, but she “expected to be held responsible … and wants to put (it) behind her and her family.”
The charge against Sandi Jackson carries a maximum of three-year prison sentence. But Kirsch says the agreement “does not contemplate a sentence of that length.”
The court papers said that Jackson filed false financial reports with the U.S. House of Representatives in an attempt to conceal his and his wife’s conversion of campaign funds for their personal benefit.
Since last June, 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.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
