A federal judge today ordered jurors in the trial of Kevin Ring to continue deliberating after they sent a note saying they were deadlocked on seven of eight counts against the former lobbyist, according to a court official.
The jury sent a similar note yesterday saying they had reached a verdict on one count, but could not agree on the other seven. The one count on which the jury has reached a verdict relates to a $5,000 payment to the wife of former Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.).
Ring, a former associate of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, is being tried in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle. This is the seventh day of deliberations.
Ring is charged with handing out tens of thousands of dollars worth of free meals, trips, and tickets to sports events and concerts to congressional staffers and Justice Department officials in return for their help with his clients’ interests. He is the second person to stand trial during the Justice Department’s long-running investigation into Abramoff’s activities. Seventeen people have pleaded guilty in the probe.
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