Lawyers say ex-HUD chief won’t be charged

Created on Wednesday, 05 May 2010 11:02 Last Updated on Monday, 03 December 2012 19:20 Published on Wednesday, 05 May 2010 11:02 Written by Associated Press Hits: 1010

WASHINGTON (AP)—Lawyers for former housing secretary Alphonso Jackson said the Justice Department won’t prosecute the former Bush administration official and has closed its criminal investigation.

The Housing and Urban Development Department secretary left government in 2008 with unanswered questions about whether he had tilted the agency toward Republican contractors and cronies.

On May 3, the Justice Department declined to comment on whether it had closed out the probe.

ALPHONSO JACKSON

However, one of Jackson’s attorneys, Jim Martin, said he received a call April 30 from the Justice Department’s public integrity section “specifically saying that the file was being closed.”

Jackson’s lawyers say that ending the investigation demonstrates that the allegations surrounding his conduct at HUD were without support.

When he exited the Bush cabinet, Jackson left behind the wreckage of a national housing crisis.

Jackson’ attorneys say that he had been among the Bush administration’s leading figures in seeking to limit the fallout from the wave of foreclosures.

Jackson issued a statement saying the last three years had been trying for him and his family. He said he appreciated the thorough and conscientious manner in which Justice Department attorneys had handled the case.