Stan Quoted in Roll Call re: "Defeat Doesn’t Spell End to Probes of Lawmakers"

In fact, some attorneys said the loss of an election only spells more trouble for politicians under federal investigation, prompting prosecutors to pursue more aggressively a case since the potential defendant no longer has the institution of Congress defending him or her.

“It makes prosecutors less reluctant, more aggressive. It emboldens them,” said Stan Brand of Brand [Law Group].

In addition to Weldon, Burns and Harris, Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) is facing the increasing likelihood that he will be battling a federal probe without the aura of incumbency behind him, as Jefferson is now slated for a runoff election next month. Jefferson, who saw his home and Congressional offices raided as part of a probe into alleged bribes he took in exchange for steering contracts to firms doing business in Africa, finished first in the New Orleans-based open primary but with just 30 percent of the vote in a field with a dozen challengers.

Brand noted that a former client, ex-Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), lost re-election in the fall of 1994 but his corruption probe continued until he pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud in April 1996.

It’s unclear how much the loss of a Congressional seat hurts an ex-Member still dealing with a corruption investigation. The same privileges that apply to sitting Members — such as the Speech or Debate Clause exempting much legislative work from criminal investigations — continue to apply to former Members.

But one critical element of any Member’s defense disappears, that being the ability to raise money into a campaign account that can be used to pay legal bills. “That’s a real issue for some of these guys. It gets a lot bleaker,” Brand said.

Without a campaign war chest or a Congressional legal defense fund to pay mounting legal bills, Brand said, some ex-Members are forced into caving and making a plea deal with prosecutors.

Link