From the Chicago Sun Times: A hush fell over the courtroom Wednesday after a judge asked Jesse Jackson Jr. if he wanted to talk to his lawyer before answering the “ultimate” question.
A red-eyed, sniffling Jackson Jr. paused, pivoted from the lectern and looked at his wife, sitting on the first courtroom bench. He turned back.
“Ask the question,” Jackson whispered to the judge.
How did he plead to charges of massive misuse of campaign money?
“I am guilty, your honor,” Jackson said.
Those five words set in motion a future that was likely to include prison for Jackson and possibly his wife for misusing $750,000 in campaign funds, lavishing themselves with personal items ranging from fur coats to mounted Elk heads and pricey memorabilia to a Disney vacation and a five-day holistic retreat on Martha’s Vineyard.
Jackson even used the campaign cash for the more mundane purchase of toothpaste and toilet paper....
Hours later, Jackson and his wife swapped spots. The former congressman held his wife’s hand and led her to the defense table. She pleaded guilty while he watched from the courtroom.
“Sir, for years I lived in my campaign. I used monies that should have been used for campaign purposes, and I used them for myself personally, to benefit me personally,” Jackson told the judge. “And I am acknowledging that that which the government has presented is accurate.”
Jackson Jr. pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and false statements. Hours later, his wife broke down in tears as she pleaded guilty to a single tax crime. She failed to report more than $600,000 in income on the couple’s taxes from 2005 to 2011.
“Jesse Jackson Jr. lied many times over many years to hide the fraud from the government and most importantly, his constituents,” said Machen, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
Machen noted that many contributors to the congressman were people of modest means — “auto workers, teachers, plumbers.”
“He betrayed their trust,” Machen said. http://www.suntimes.com/18353314-761/red-eyed-sniffling-jesse-jackson-jr-answers-ultimate-question-i-am-guilty-your-honor.html
The Jacksons do not deserve any special consideration and no leniency when they are sentenced. They knew what they were doing and they learned from the best scammer there is- Jesse Jackson Sr.
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