By Kathleen Hunter, CQ Staff

Embattled Rep. William J. Jefferson has petitioned an appeals court in Richmond, Va., to take another look at recent ruling denying the Louisiana Democrat’s bid to toss out corruption and bribery charges against him.

Jefferson on Wednesday petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit to grant an en banc review of its Nov. 12 ruling rejecting Jefferson’s bid to have all but two of the 16 felony charges against him thrown out on the grounds that they run afoul of the “speech or debate clause,” a constitutional provision that insulates legislative activity from executive review.

Jefferson’s lawyer, Robert Trout, argued that an en banc review, in which the entire 4th Circuit rather than a three-judge panel would consider the matter, was warranted because the case “involves a question of exceptional importance.”

“The panel’s holding that a member of Congress cannot challenge the prosecution’s use of evidence of privileged speech or debate activities in the grand jury dramatically curtails the absolute protection the speech or debate clause was designed to provide, and is in direct conflict with decisions of other circuits that have addressed the issue,” Trout argued.

The 4th Circuit is supposed to include 15 judges, but four of those positions currently are vacant.

The three-judge panel’s Nov. 12 opinion, which affirmed a February ruling issued by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, brought Jefferson a step closer to a facing a jury on charges of conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud and money laundering, stemming from allegations that he illegally brokered business deals in Africa.

But Wednesday’s petition could prompt yet another delay in the trial, which most recently had been slated to begin Dec. 2 but now has been postponed indefinitely.

The three-judge panel supported Ellis’ determination that a grand jury which indicted Jefferson on June 4, 2007, had not reviewed any protected material. The lower court’s decision “to act as it did in assessing Jefferson’s speech or debate clause claim was within its discretion and entirely appropriate.” the appeals court ruled.

Jefferson had argued that grand jury testimony furnished by congressional aides violated the constitutional protections afforded to legislators.

In a memo accompanying his original ruling, Ellis warned that “the speech or debate clause is not a license to commit crime.”

Meanwhile, Jefferson appears poised to win a 10th full term.

On Nov. 4, he edged out Helena Moreno, a local television journalist, to win a primary runoff election in his New Orleans-based 2nd District. Jefferson is heavily favored to win the Dec. 6 general election, where he faces Republican lawyer Joseph Cao.