Will Jackson Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks get more time to fight his public corruption indictments?
Banks submitted a motion in U.S. District Court Tuesday that asked for "leave to resubmit proposed trial dates." A federal grand jury indicted Banks in November for bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery.
The indictment charges Banks solicited a $50,000 bribe to steer the contract for building a convention center hotel to a team of District Attorney Jody Owens and developers. The developers were undercover FBI agents. The agents paid (allegedly) $10,000 to Banks. Banks also required Owens hire his daughter, which he did. The grand jury also indicted Owens, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Marve Smith, and former Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee on similar charges. Earlier post on indictments, complete with all the juicy details.
The prosecution and defense submitted a combined motion to continue in November for the trial scheduled for January 2025. The Court granted the continuance and asked both sides to submit proposed trial dates. Since the two sides could not agree, the defense and prosecution each submitted three proposed trial dates to the Court.
Aaron Banks asked the Court to allow him to submit three additional proposed trial dates. Banks said he had not received any discovery when he submitted three proposed trial dates in November. The defense received "the first volume" of discovery and "we can see just how extensive and dense the Government's production is."
The Justice Department wanted to try the case a year after the November indictments. Banks' lawyer Carlos Tanner argued in the motion:
Now, having started my review of the first volume of the Government’s discovery materials, which we received by mail a few days after we had submitted the Court our requested trial schedules for this case, the undersigned believes the trial dates the Government and the defense submitted to the Court are quite unrealistic. Of course, I have had federal cases far less complex than this one that required much more time to defend than what we have asked for in this litigation. To be sure, as soon as I reached my above-referenced conclusion, I contacted counsel for the various defendants in this case by email and proposed we notify the Court about this issue at once so we would not represent that we could handle this case in the timeline we have stated, only to have to ask the Court for additional time in the future when the need for more time was foreseeable to us now. Counsel for the other defendants were agreeable to that suggestion.(KF note: Of course they did.)
The discovery materials provide some clues as to the thoroughness of the federal investigation.
Until I started skimming the materials in an effort to organize the documents and other evidence the Government had provided me, I was not aware the vast number of people and entities referenced in these materials. Moreover, with respect to the density of the discovery materials on the drives I received, I could not have known at the time my fellow defense counsel and I were trying to fashion reasonable trial dates that so many of the documents at issue were financial records, which alone require extensive, and perhaps expert attention
The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan, III.
Kingfish note: It is normal for attorneys to ask for more time in cases such as this one. However, the scuttlebutt in the courthouse was the government only revealed a small portion of its case in the indictments. The feds have hundreds of hours of audio and video evidence. The defense is just now finding out how much evidence there is. This might get good .
31 comments:
Keep that meter running.
Think Lumumba is just now figuring out how screwed he is?
Antard has 8 calendar days to submit those campaign finance reports so he can file for re-election. The clock is ticking.
Until Lumumba release his financial reports required by law FOR ALL previous years, he should NOT be allowed to SUBMIT his name for reelection. As for Banks ,yes he does want a continuance so he will be able to draw a check to offset Carlos Tanner fees in billable hours! Good luck! Feds have you by the balls as one would say!
I've heard from a reliable source that there are over 600 hours of videotape.
I thought he was a pastor. Do the right thing for young folks who look up to you. Show the community you care and end this embarrassing episode. Man up, please and tell on everyone quickly so we can put a none pastor in your seat. We have to live after you get your sentence. You and your lawyer know you don’t need to hear or see what’s on the videotape… you were there. Mr. Banks do like the lady ,Ms. Lee, and man up, Sir. Your example may be what Lumumba needs to save his family from further embarrassment.
Here is the problem. Most of these folks are still in office and every day they remain in office is another day the City and its citizens are exposed to harm. Delaying things so they can get more grift is not an option.
anyone surprised by the density of the Feds case? Other than those who have been indicted? That's why they usually win. FAFO
Some lawyers have a name for this kind of defense. They call it going into the 4 corners defense.
Almost every "pastor" in Jackson is crooked.
Lil Choke's campaign finance reports may include evidence of current and previous and ongoing corruption. He has a total of 5 or more years of missing reports which preclude his eligibility to run for city office, according to local WAPT news. We may be freed from his control of the City forever.
I've said all along that this was shaping up to be one of the biggest FBI political take downs in history and there's no telling how wide the net was cast....and then Ashby unknowingly blew their cover and accelerated the whole thing.
Who cares about the cha-ching of billable hours unless the judge requires 'the city' to pay for it. And I don't doubt that could happen.
I usually hear parents trying to hire an attorney and get bond money for their kids that allegedly committed a crime. I asked the parents does he work, go to school etc. Most say no, then why spend money you don’t have to get your fool out of jail. Jail may save him in the long run! To Mr Banks if you committed these acts, take your medicine and move on as Ms Lee did. We forgot she was involved! I guess you are trying to stay in the limelight. Mr Lee your co-defendants will throw you under the prison bus! Be smart and do the right thing for once in your life! You cannot hang with the big dogs!!!
Rudy will still hold the continuance record.
If 10:14 is right and Lumumba can’t run I’m going streaking from my house in Fondren all the way to the gymnasium.
Just how stupid does one have to be to think you can fight and win after being busted for bribery by a federal undercover investigation like this one where there's lots of recordings by the u/c you took the bribes from?
Oh well, never mind.
It's not the bribery that sends you to prison, it's the getting caught.
@10:14, and yet he and his sycophants shout at every chance, even here at JJ, that he is, and has always been, Mr. Transparent.
If Lumumba actually files the reports it will probably only have these words: "I plead the Fif."
The best free legal advice they have gotten was from Stokes. Take the plea.
Not a single one of the fools can finance their defense in a complex criminal prosecution. Unless they can get a "zero money down" defense firm!
They just need to go straight to the guilty plea and finding out their sentence.
Why would anyone think the mayor has the campaign finance reports and that the problem is that he hasn't filed them?
Is you taking notes? 😂 (The Wire)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rU21tJT9A4
January 23, 2025 at 10:10 AM
I've heard of 4 corners offense in basketball, but I haven't heard of 4 corners defense in law. Do you have something I can educate myself with?
He’s gonna flip and cop a plea deal guaranteed. Problem for the government is, banks probably doesn’t have much on Lumumba to tell. Lumumba never trusted him and had little to no relationship. They’ll be lucky to get hearsay
OJ got off. Don't ever forget that.
What a very sad group of gentlemen currently representing our city/county/state. They probably are guilty but will keep fighting their indictments and tie the city up in knots for a year. Please JACKSONIANS, send them a message and ask them to step down so the city can move forward.
Good thing this will be a Federal jury and not a municipal jury.
Chokwe is no O.J. but I almost hope he thinks he is.
OJ had serious money to pay for The Dream Team to defend him.
Chokwe is dreaming if he thinks he can pay anyone halfway competent to defend this case.
So, on Monday morning 2/3/2025 is the Secretary of State required to act on Mr. Banks and Mr. Lumumba being eligible for office absent the filing of campaign finance reports on Friday or do the voters have to sue?
Civic minded voters should already have this filing ready to go.
4:01, if only the legislature had the fortitude and honesty to properly fund and staff a real enforcement division for campaign finance, this likely wouldn't happen. (But you might want to consult a lawyer on whether citizens could have standing even if they wanted to sue.)
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