KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana |Jury completes deliberations in Jefferson trial
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Associated Press - July 30, 2009 6:24 PM ET
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - The jury has completed its first day of deliberations in the corruption trial of a former Louisiana congressman.
Jury deliberations in the case of William Jefferson lasted for about three hours Thursday, following about six weeks of testimony. Deliberations will resume at 9:30 a.m. Friday.
Jefferson, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans, is accused of receiving more than $400,000 in bribes and soliciting millions more in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa.
Jefferson's attorneys say he was acting as a private business consultant and his actions did not constitute bribery under federal law.
In August 2005, FBI agents searched Jefferson's Washington home and found $90,000 cash hidden in his freezer.
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