Former Rep. William Jefferson seeking mental health records for witness
by Bruce Alpert - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

WASHINGTON -- If a key government witness against former Rep. William Jefferson has "qualms" about producing mental health records and answering questions "it is the charges that must yield, " not Jefferson's "right to defend against them, " his attorneys say.

Documents filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., where Jefferson is scheduled to go on trial May 26 on 16 corruption charges, also reveal previously unreleased transcripts of FBI recorded conversations with the witness, Virginia businesswoman Lori Mody. The tapes describe her as worried about a possible stalker and having "a lot of personal issues" at the time she and Jefferson worked together on a Nigerian telecommunications project.

In the papers, Jefferson's attorneys said that at some of the meetings between Mody and the congressman "considerable amounts of wine was consumed." They also said the Justice Department had revealed in a previously sealed document that Mody was undergoing something (the phrase is redacted by court order) that affected her ability "to concentrate."