Mississippi
DOJ responds to Hinds DA motion to dismiss in Mississippi bribery case
Federal response includes 25 exhibits after Owens’ motion set off a court fight over access to evidence.
Former Jackson Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee pleads guilty
Former Jackson Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee leaves federal court in Jackson after she pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery
Federal prosecutors responded to Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens motion to dismiss the federal bribery charges against him, filing their opposition under seal along with 25 exhibits that are not currently available to the public.
In the Monday, Feb. 23, filing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said it submitted its response in paper form only, along with a disc containing 25 exhibits. Federal prosecutors are opposing Owens’ claim that FBI investigators engaged in outrageous government conduct and unlawfully entrapped him.
The prosecutors’ filing was placed under seal by the clerk’s office due to a prior court order outlining how sensitive materials tied to the Owens’ motion should be handled. The court established a process in which filings are first submitted under restricted access, then reviewed for proposed redactions before any public release.
It is playing out like an ongoing tug-of-war between transparency and secrecy in one of Mississippi’s largest public corruption cases in recent years.
Owens effectively lit the fuse on that fight in January when he attached more than 40 exhibits to his motion to dismiss, including undercover recordings, FBI memoranda, text messages and confidential source reports. The exhibits were publicly available in court records for a short period before federal prosecutors filed an emergency motion asking the court to seal them. They argued the exhibits contained protected discovery and sensitive investigative information.
The Clarion Ledger reviewed and obtained the exhibits while they were publicly available in court records before the court restricted access.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan outlined the sealing process during a Feb. 11 status conference, as attorneys continued sorting through thousands of pages of records and hours of undercover audio and video tied to the case.
If Owens’ motion to dismiss is granted, it could end the prosecution before it ever reaches a jury. A status conference on the case is set for April 1, where attorneys are expected to discuss jury selection and possible use of juror questionnaires.
Federal prosecutors allege Owens, former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and former Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks accepted cash payments, campaign contributions and other benefits from undercover FBI agents posing as developers seeking support for a downtown convention center hotel project.
All three men were indicted in November 2024 and have pleaded not guilty to a combined total of 17 federal felony counts.
Two other defendants — former Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee and Sherik Marve Smith, an associate of Owens — have pleaded guilty. A trial is set for July 13, 2026.
Charlie Drape is the Jackson beat reporter. Contact him at cdrape@gannett.com.