Mistrial declared in case of lobbyist from Abramoff scandal

A judge has declared a mistrial in the case of Kevin Ring, a former lobbyist caught up in the Jack Abramoff scandal.

The decision came after the jury could not reach a conclusion on the corruption charges Ring was facing after eight days of deliberations, the Associated Press reported.

Ring was the first Abramoff associate to fight corruption charges in a jury trial. K Street lobbyists were keeping a close watch on the trial, which lasted five weeks and was seen as a test of how far lobbyists may push influence and access tactics.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle declared the case a mistrial after jurors said they could not reach a verdict on seven charges in the case and that they no longer agreed on the verdict they had reached on the eighth charge earlier this week.

The judge sent the jury back for more deliberations earlier Thursday but later declared the case a mistrial after the jury remained at an impasse.

Ring’s attorneys argued that the expensive tickets and meals their client gave government officials and congressional aides were normal tools of the lobbying trade. Prosecutors argue they were part of a pay-to-play conspiracy that involved illegal gratuities intended to curry access and influence government action in favor of clients. Those made up the first seven charges.

The jury also was unable to agree on the eighth charge: whether to convict Ring for his part in arranging a job that paid $96,000 to the wife of former Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.).

The mistrial is a setback for prosecutors in a five-year-long criminal investigation that sent Abramoff and former Republican Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio to prison and led to guilty pleas by 15 other people.

---