Alabama Representative John Rogers has been ordered to jail for violating his bond by contacting a witness in his bribery case. Rogers, 82, has been charged with obstruction of justice and obstruction of justice by bribery. The charges allege that he offered public money to the founder of a nonprofit organization in exchange for lying to the FBI about a kickback scheme. The witness, identified as “Individual #1,” is George Stewart, founder of the American Gospel Quartet Convention. Rogers denies attempting to contact Stewart and claims it was an “erroneous phone call made by someone.”
Federal prosecutors requested that Rogers be jailed after he violated the condition of his bond by FaceTiming the witness. U.S. Magistrate Judge Staci Cornelius ordered Rogers into custody and set a hearing for Thursday afternoon. In court, Judge Cornelius stated that she had explicitly instructed Rogers to have no contact with anyone associated with his case. Rogers’ attorney, John Robbins, denies the allegations and plans to present evidence during the hearing. Rogers himself has expressed confidence in his innocence, stating that “it was never like he [Stewart] said it was.”
Rogers allegedly sent money from the Jefferson County Community Service Fund, a collection of local tax dollars available for lawmakers to distribute to community groups, to the American Gospel Quartet Convention. Rogers’ longtime assistant, Varrie Johnson Kindall, also received a cut of the money through an “administration fee.” Johnson Kindall has been charged with multiple offenses, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Rogers’ defense claims that the phone call to the witness was a mistake, intended for his accountant with the same last name. Rogers is expected to be released from jail for Thursday’s hearing, where he will present his case.