MIAMI AP – In a case watched closely by defense attorneys nationwide, federal prosecutors urged a skeptical appeals court panel on Wednesday to reinstate a money-laundering conspiracy charge against a prominent lawyer accused of illegally accepting more than $5 million in tainted legal fees from a Colombian cocaine baron.
Vijay Shanker, a Justice Department appellate lawyer, told the panel that a Miami district court judge wrongly dismissed the key count against attorney Ben Kuehne, a former counsel to Vice President Al Gore during the 2000 presidential election recount.
