Rep. William Jefferson, convicted of selling his influence for hundreds of thousands in “cold cash,” wants a new trial. Last week a New Orleans jury found the nine-term congressman guilty on 11 of 16 counts of public corruption, acquitting him of five others. On Wednesday, Jefferson’s attorneys filed a motion requesting that Judge T.S. Ellis III grant a new trial. While it is highly unlikely that Ellis will comply, Jefferson’s defenders are hoping that the court will release material concerning Lori Mody, the Virginia businesswoman who wore a government bug to record conversations with Jefferson but never appeared to testify during his seven-week trial, NOLA.com reports. Ellis is scheduled to sentence the 62-year-old Jefferson on Oct. 30. The Web site reports that lead Prosecutor Mark Lytle said sentencing guidelines call for the Louisiana Democrat to spend 20 years in prison. Most observers believe that Jefferson will serve a much lighter sentence. Investigators, who raided Jefferson’s Capitol Hill apartment in 2006, found $90,000 in his freezer.

Just days after former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson was convicted in a lengthy trial of selling his influence, his brother, Mose Jefferson, must convince a Louisiana jury that he did not accept bribes as a former Orleans Parish School Board president. His attorneys, who head to court today, are asking U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon to either delay the trial or move it from New Orleans because of the publicity generated in the conviction of William Jefferson. In that case, the jury handed down 11 convictions against the ex-congressman, who was discovered with $90,000 dollars in his apartment freezer. Lemmon previously denied the request to move the trial, saying that potential bias would come out during the jury questioning period. Earlier, nearly a third of the jury pool were dismissed after bias was revealed in their written questionnaires, defense attorney Michael Fawer told The Times Picayune.

Judge Delays Jefferson Trial

Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), who is on trial on charges of corruption and influence peddling, will get a few days to find an expert witness to testify on his behalf.  The prosecution alleges that Jefferson tried to charge money for securing legislation. However, Jefferson’s attorneys argue that if the government had such juicy evidence of bribery against their client they should have introduced it from the outset. Read more.