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| Jesse Jackson Jr pleads guilty to campaign money misuse | Jesse Jackson Jr pleads guilty to campaign money misuse |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Former congressman Jesse Jackson Jr has pleaded guilty to misuse of about $750,000 (£490,000) in campaign money. | |
| Jackson, son of civil rights leader the Rev Jesse Jackson, wept as he entered the plea at court in Washington DC. He faces up to five years in prison. | Jackson, son of civil rights leader the Rev Jesse Jackson, wept as he entered the plea at court in Washington DC. He faces up to five years in prison. |
| Prosecutors say Jackson used campaign funds for personal expenses and failed to report gifts. | Prosecutors say Jackson used campaign funds for personal expenses and failed to report gifts. |
| The 47-year-old Democrat resigned in November after acknowledging he was being treated for bipolar disorder. | The 47-year-old Democrat resigned in November after acknowledging he was being treated for bipolar disorder. |
| "Guilty, your honour," the former Illinois representative said after the federal judge asked for his plea. "I misled the American people." | |
| Memorabilia seizure | |
| Jackson's father and other family members sat in the front row of the courtroom during Wednesday's hearing. | |
| Jackson and his wife, Sandra, had agreed to plead guilty in deals with prosecutors. | |
| He admitted a conspiracy charge, and his wife was due in court later on Wednesday on tax-fraud charges. She could face three years in prison. | |
| Prosecutors say that between 2007-09, the Jacksons used funds donated to his re-election campaign to buy a gold-plated Rolex watch worth more than $43,000, fur capes and parkas worth over $5,000, and nearly $9,600 on children's furniture. | |
| He is also accused of failing to report $28,500 in gifts and loans to the House of Representatives, where he had served since 1995. | |
| Officials may try to seize more than $60,000 in memorabilia and furs linked to the fraud. | |
| Mr Jackson has also been under investigation by the House ethics committee over his dealings with imprisoned ex-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. | |
| Blagojevich was convicted of trying to sell an appointment to President Barack Obama's former US Senate seat and other corruption charges. |