JACKSON - Prosecutors in the judicial bribery case of a state Supreme Court justice said Friday that the U.S. Justice Department is the lead counsel in the case - an apparent attempt to circumvent defense claims of a conflict of interest with a U.S. attorney.
Attorney Paul Minor is accused of buying favorable decisions from Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr., former Circuit Judge John Whitfield and former Chancery Judge Wes Teel.
Diaz's former wife, Jennifer Diaz, had also been named in the scheme but pleaded guilty on Monday to lesser charges and agreed to cooperate with investigators.
Defense attorneys say the lead U.S. attorney revealed his selective prosecution of Minor during Jennifer Diaz's interviews with investigators leading up to her plea agreement.
Prosecutors have alleged, among other violations, that Minor guaranteed a loan for approximately $75,000 and provided checks and cash to the Diazes.
Abbe Lowell, Minor's attorney, filed a motion to dismiss the charges 15 months ago, claiming U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton set his sights on Minor for political and personal reasons.
Lowell has claimed Minor's political affiliation with the Democratic Party and a large settlement he won from a Lampton family member prompted Lampton, a Republican appointee, to single out Minor.
Prosecutors have maintained throughout the case that the charges against Minor are not political. They say Minor and the other defendants were involved in a lucrative scheme that netted Minor hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney's fees from cases before three different judges.
Prosecutor Peter Ainsworth, from the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section in Washington, told a hearing that his department, not Lampton, has made prosecutorial decisions since before indictments were handed down.
Defense attorney Joe Holloman said after the hearing that prosecutors are trying to "get deniability at arm's length."
Holloman said Ainsworth was responding to an affidavit filed Friday by Jennifer Diaz's attorney, Jim Kitchens, in which Kitchens described a meeting with prosecutors on April 13.
"(Lampton) told us that he would not be participating in the proffer interview, as he understood that part of what Mrs. Diaz would say would have to do with Dickie Scruggs, and that he, Mr. Lampton, could possibly have some conflict in that regard," the affidavit says. "(Lampton) went on to say that Mr. Scruggs and (U.S. Sen. Trent) Lott are brothers-in-law, and Sen. Lott was the one that appointed him."
Lott, R-Miss., and Scruggs are married to sisters.
Kitchens affidavit says Lampton told him that if Scruggs was to be prosecuted, Lampton would have recuse himself from the case.
The defense team has repeatedly urged the judge to dismiss the charges on the grounds of selective prosecution.
Lowell claims Scruggs guaranteed a similar loan to the Diazes but Lampton "guided" a grand jury to indict Minor while shielding Scruggs due to his Republican ties.
Lowell has said part of the loans that Jennifer Diaz pleaded guilty to hiding from her 2001 taxes, came from an $80,000 loan from Scruggs while only $17,000 came from Minor.
Jennifer Diaz pleaded guilty to attempted tax evasion for trying to avoid paying $27,873 in income tax for the calendar year 2001 on the Gulf Coast bed and breakfast - Green Oaks LLC - she owned at the time.
Lowell says neither Scruggs nor Minor did anything wrong. However, he says the different treatment they received from federal prosecutors highlight Lampton's malice in prosecution.
District Judge Henry Wingate pointed out that Scruggs testified before a grand jury without immunity and was not indicted.
Responding to Wingate's request that prosecutors characterize the Justice Department and Lampton's ties, Ainsworth said the two were "partners."
Defense Attorney Michael Crosby echoed Lowell's claim that the case had been tainted.
"If your partner has a conflict, you have a conflict," he said.
Ainsworth countered that "there is more to it than Mr. Lowell has characterized it to be," but did not elaborate.
Wingate made no decisions in the case, saying he would hand down a written opinion on whether to dismiss next week. The trial is scheduled to begin May 9.
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