The federal corruption trial of Philadelphia Councilman Kenyatta Johnson and his wife, political consultant Dawn Chavous, ended in a mistrial Tuesday afternoon.
A jury had deliberated for several days, but said Monday that they were deadlocked. Tuesday at about 5 p.m., the judge declared a mistrial.
Johnson and Chavous were charged with allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for political favors and influencing the work of Philadelphia city business.
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Their defense attorneys argued that the work Chavous did as a consultant was honest, and Johnson's political decisions as a councilman were not influenced by outside agencies or businesses.
"We are gratified that some of the jurors appear to recognize the government did not introduce a single piece of hard evidence that either the Councilmember or Ms. Chavous did something wrong – not a single email, text, memo, taped call or witness detailing the bribery the government alleges occurred," the attorneys for Johnson and Chavous said in a statement.
The government could decide to retry case against Johnson and Chavous. The two attorneys, in their statement, urged the government not to.
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Johnson is in his third term on Council following two terms as a state representative. He is the second councilman to be on trial in recent months.
Former Councilman Bobby Henon, who resigned from Council in February, was convicted along with union boss John "Johnny Doc" Dougherty following a federal corruption trial last year.
