Jefferson Loses More Than His Office
by Bruce Alpert - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

WASHINGTON -- Rep. William Jefferson's unexpected loss Saturday may have cost him a bargaining chip in negotiating a potential deal with government prosecutors and leaves him without his congressional salary as he faces expensive defense and appellate proceedings.

"An agreement to withdraw from office, and politics, in exchange for a lower prison sentence is a classic deal in such cases," said Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law expert at George Washington University who has been following the Jefferson case.

Franklin E. Zimring, a criminal law expert at the University of California at Berkeley, said he expects prosecutors won't be inclined to show any mercy now that Jefferson has lost his House seat.

"I wouldn't expect any real softening from the government because there is so much history to the case and so many personal investments in a prosecution," Zimring said.