By PETE YOST and FREDERIC J. FROMMER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson
Jr., holding back tears, entered a guilty plea Wednesday in federal
court to criminal charges that he engaged in a scheme to spend $750,000
in campaign funds on personal items. He faces 46 to 57 months in prison
under a plea deal with prosecutors
Before entering the plea to the conspiracy charge,
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.
Jackson dabbed his face with tissues, and at point a
court employee brought some tissues to Jackson's lawyer, who gave them
to the ex-congressman.
Jackson told the judge he was waiving his right to trial.
"In perfect candor, your honor, I have no interest in wasting the taxpayers' time or money," he said.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 28, and Wilkins is not bound by the plea agreement. Jackson is free until then.
Jackson entered the courtroom holding hands with
his wife, Sandra, and looking a bit dazzled as he surveyed the packed
room. He kissed his wife and headed to the defense table. She is
expected to plead guilty on a charge of filing false joint federal
income tax returns for the years 2006 through 2011 that knowingly
understated the income the couple received.
Jackson's father, civil rights leader Jesse
Jackson, sat in the front row. Before the hearing started, he wrote
notes on a small piece of paper. When the proceedings started, he sat
expressionless and virtually motionless, hands folded.
Jesse Jackson Jr., wearing a blue shirt and
blue-patterned tie and gray 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.
Jackson, 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.
Prosecutors said that upon conviction Jackson must forfeit $750,000,
plus tens of thousands of dollars' worth of memorabilia items and furs.
As the proceedings wound up, Jackson sat at the
defense table and shook his head in what looked like an expression of
disbelief. After the hearing was adjourned, he walked over to his wife,
grabbed her hand, and then was greeted by his father. Jackson Jr. patted
his father on the back a few times.
"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.
The charge against Sandra Jackson carries a maximum
of three years in prison. However, one of her lawyers, Tom Kirsch, says
the plea agreement "does not contemplate a sentence of that length."
Sandra Jackson was a Chicago alderman before she resigned last month
during the federal investigation.
As the hearing for Jackson got under way Wednesday,
newly filed court papers disclosed that the judge had offered to
disqualify himself from handling the cases against Jackson and his wife.
As a Harvard Law School student, Wilkins said he
had supported the presidential campaign of Jackson's father, civil
rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, and that as an attorney in 1999,
Wilkins had been a guest on a show hosted by Jackson's father.
Prosecutors and lawyers for the couple said they
were willing to proceed with the cases with Wilkins presiding. Judicial
ethics require that a judge disqualify himself if his impartiality might
reasonably be questioned.
Copyright 2013 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
