Jesse Jackson Jr.'s Shady Interior Decorating Has Him Talking to the Feds

Reuters
Alexander Abad-Santos 2,069 Views Nov 9, 2012

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr is reportedly ironing out a plea deal with the feds for using his campaign funds to buy a $40,000 Rolex and fix up his pad. If his reelection on Tuesday is any indication, his supporters might not care. Jackson Jr. didn't even campaign, has been in and out of the Mayo Clinic for treatment of bi-polar disorder, has a cloud of bribery charges floating over him, and still won reelection in his Chicago District by capturing 71 percent of the vote (Seriously, Brian Woodsworth and Marcus Lewis? Seriously?).  

But back to the plea deal. Our John Hudson reported on October 15 that Jackson was facing a criminal investigation for using campaign funds to spruce up his home. And sources are telling ABC News and The Chicago Sun-Times that this plea deal has something to do with that. That, and using campaign funds to "buy a $40,000 Rolex watch as a gift for a female friend," reports the Sun-Times's Michael Sneed. "No one has pled guilty, but plea discussions are ongoing," writes Sneed—both ABC and Sneed do not have the terms of the plea agreement, and Jackson's reps declined to comment to ABC Chicago about the alleged negotiations. 

In addition to this newfound piece of plea deal news, Jackson's legal and political year has been peppered with bizarre disappearances and reappearances with stints in rehab and bribery charges involving Barack Obama's old seat and ex-Governor Rod Balgojevich.

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