Prince George’s County Councilwoman Leslie Johnson, who has been charged but has not been indicted with her husband in an FBI corruption probe, is likely working to strike a plea deal, according to former federal prosecutors. “Because she is the wife and she is not the prime defendant, it may very well be that the prosecutors are trying to do some sort of deal with her,” said Joseph diGenova, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, now in private practice. But diGenova added: “The fact she hasn’t been indicted has no significance whatsoever.”
Johnson and her husband, former County Executive Jack Johnson, were arrested in November after federal investigators said they conspired to hide and destroy evidence linking the former county executive to an expansive pay-for-play deal with area businessmen. On Monday, a federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment against Jack Johnson, but not his wife.
U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said Monday that Leslie Johnson was not indicted with her husband because a federal judge granted her request
for an extension of time until her preliminary hearing. That means she could go another month before being indicted, as authorities have until March 16, the date of the hearing, to do so.
Jacob Frenkel, a former federal prosecutor who practices law in Maryland, said there’s a “very significant possibility” that Leslie Johnson, fearing additional charges, is in plea negotiations with the U.S. attorneys.
“They’re not out to deal with Jack Johnson to bring cases against other people,” he said on D.C. television station WTTG Fox 5. “Rather, the government is about working out deals with others who are going to bolster their case against Jack Johnson.”
Marcy Murphy, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, declined to comment. Shawn Wright, an attorney for Leslie Johnson, did not return a phone call or reply to an e-mail.
In cases involving both a husband and wife, diGenova acknowledged that prosecutors often pressure the husband to plead guilty to get a better deal for the wife. “You always want to try to get pleas as long as they’re acceptable pleas. It’s always better to get a plea than waste a lot of time on a trial.”
Since she has resisted calls to resign her council position, there has also been speculation inside Prince George’s County
that Leslie Johnson could use her seat as leverage for a plea deal.
On Tuesday, she showed no sign of distress as she participated in the weekly County Council meeting, speaking and presenting achievement awards to high school students. But unlike her colleagues who took part in a council briefing on ethics and county government oversight, she sat there without uttering a word.
