Adviser in D.C. mayor probe cites memory loss in trying to honor plea
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Version 0 of 1. An attorney for a former political adviser to Vincent C. Gray said that his client suffers from memory loss and should not be punished for failing to abide by an August 2013 plea agreement that called for him to cooperate with federal prosecutors’ investigation of the former D.C. mayor. The disclosure came Tuesday after U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly set a May 6 sentencing date for Vernon E. Hawkins, one of six people directly related to Gray’s campaign who await punishment after pleading guilty to federal crimes under agreements to assist prosecutors in exchange for lenience. [Long-running probe ends without charges against ex-mayor Vincent Gray] U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced Dec. 9 that he was ending the long-running investigation into the financing of Gray’s 2010 mayoral bid without further charges. The announcement left unclear whether prosecutors still have confidence in sworn statements from cooperating defendants that implicated Gray, and if they do, why they declined to prosecute him or other targets. As a result, the defendants’ sentencings will be closely watched to see if authorities reveal whether they believe witnesses still should be credited with cooperating in the case, and what actions by witnesses or prosecutors led to the closure of the investigation. Kollar-Kotelly took the first steps toward addressing such questions in a hearing Monday that set a sentencing schedule for Hawkins. The hearing was closed to the public. The Post requested a next-day transcript of the proceeding, which was conducted in the judge’s chambers via a telephone conference call. Hawkins, 76, is a key figure in the wider probe. A former senior political adviser to Gray (D), he pleaded guilty to making a false statement to investigators. Hawkins was the first defendant charged who had had substantial ties to Gray and to businessman Jeffrey E. Thompson, who admitted funding a $653,000 “shadow campaign” to support Gray’s 2010 election in violation of campaign finance laws. [Vernon Hawkins charged with lying in ‘shadow campaign’ probe] The case against Hawkins stemmed from allegations that he paid a former campaign worker to leave town to avoid questioning by the FBI, according to court papers. Under the plea deal, Hawkins reserved the right to seek a sentence of zero to six months in prison. Prosecutors sought a sentence of 10 to 16 months, saying Hawkins obstructed justice and impeded investigators’ work. On the Monday conference call, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan P. Hooks did not address whether prosecutors thought Hawkins had complied with the terms of his plea deal. But Hooks said that Hawkins would be the first defendant sentenced since the shutdown of the investigation was announced and that prosecutors and the court could then consider the outcome in weighing subsequent sentences, the transcript shows. Hawkins’s attorney, William E. Lawler III, said he expects prosecutors will be “coming on very strong” against Hawkins for his actions after the plea deal. The U.S. attorney’s’ office “expressed at various times dissatisfaction with Mr. Hawkins’s recollection” since the deal was struck, Lawler said, without offering specifics. “I suspect the Government is going [to] argue that he was not cooperative, and I think argue that he was deliberately not cooperative,” according to the hearing transcript. Lawler asked to present evidence that Hawkins suffers from “significant cognitive impairment” from an undisclosed medical condition. Kollar-Kotelly set an April 22 hearing for that purpose, if needed, and sealed discussion about the nature of Hawkins’s condition. The judge directed both sides by April 8 to lay out arguments over whether Hawkins had satisfied his plea deal. “The fact that his recollection didn’t match every other witness’s is not deliberate on his part or certainly not a sign of falsification,” Lawler said, adding that Hawkins would like to examine any witnesses whom the government says indicate he misled investigators. Hooks did not object to the request. Bill Miller, a spokesman for Phillips’s office, declined to comment, citing continuing proceedings in related cases. The schedule means it will be at least months — if then — before prosecutors are required to elaborate publicly on their reasoning in the case. On Thursday, Gray’s attorney said he had provided evidence to the government about a private conversation in which Thompson told another person that the former mayor did not know of the scheme. That statement contradicts what Thompson told prosecutors. [Gray lawyer: Evidence that ex-D.C. mayor unaware of shadow campaign] |