Whittemore’s lawyers argue federal judge can’t send him to prison
A federal judge has no jurisdiction to order Harvey Whittemore to begin serving his two-year prison term for breaking campaign contribution laws, lawyers for the former power broker argued in court papers Monday.
Federal prosecutors filed a motion this month asking Senior U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks to set a new date for Whittemore to surrender to federal prison authorities.
Hicks had allowed Whittemore to remain free while he appealed his May 29 conviction for unlawfully funneling $133,400 in contributions to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Whittemore’s lawyers wrote in their response Monday that Hicks is precluded from taking action in the case because it is in the hands of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The notice of the appeal was filed two months ago.
The defense lawyers also argued that prosecutors have no basis for asking Hicks to send Whittemore to prison.
Prosecutors contended that the judge’s reasoning for allowing Whittemore to remain free no longer exists in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in another case upholding campaign spending limits that formed the underpinnings of Whittemore’s conviction.
Whittemore, 61, was convicted of giving money to 29 family members and employees of his former development company, Wingfield Nevada Group, in 2007 and then using them as “conduits” for contributions to Reid’s re-election campaign in a scheme to skirt federal campaign laws.
The Nevada Democrat was not accused of wrongdoing in the case and did not testify at Whittemore’s trial in Reno.
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find him on Twitter @JGermanRJ.
