Former judge Jimmie Moore has admitted in court that a Democratic campaign gave him $90,000 to drop out of a Congressional race. Moore pled guilty on Monday to accepting a payment in his 2012 primary battle with Pennsylvania Rep. Bob Brady.
Moore said he disguised the payment as a campaign expense.
The former Philadelphia magistrate did not contest a charge of filing a false campaign finance report and has consented to fully participate in the subsequent investigation into the campaign.
“I don’t disagree with what the government said I did,” Moore said in court.
According to Moore’s plea bargain, he met with Brady prior to Moore’s decision to leave the primary campaign. He said the pair conspired to camouflage the payout as a legitimate campaign expense: a poll that Brady had already bought and paid for.
Despite the testimony, Brady is not facing any charges. His lawyer, James Eisenhower, wasn’t returning calls on Monday. Eisenhower has claimed that there was any discussion over disguising the purpose of the $90,000 payment. The prosecution is maintaining that the money was earmarked for Moore’s primary expenses.
Both Moore’s lawyer and the federal prosecution were tight-lipped over where the investigation will next proceed.
“There’s a vast amount of evidence out there. Whether it tends to point to Congressman Brady as doing something illegal, or tends to exculpate him, I don’t know,” said Moore’s lawyer Jeffrey Miller.
Moore is out on $25,000 bail with conditions that allow him to travel within the country. He was granted travel privileges after he informed the judge that he is undergoing treatment for prostrate cancer at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Moore faces a Jan. 11 sentencing date where he could receive a five-year prison term.