Case 1:13-cr-00058-ABJ Document 34-1 Filed 06/21/13 Page 1 of 2 United States District Court for the District of Columbia Case. No. 1:13-CR-58 (ABJ) EXHIBIT 1 Case Document 34-1 Filed 06/21/13 Page 2 of 2 Akin Gump STRAUSS HAUER FELD LLP VERNON E. JORDAN, JR. 1.202.887.4260Ifax: 1.202.416.5260 vjordan@akingump.com June 20, 2013 Honorable Amy Berman Jackson United States District Court for the District of Columbia 333 Constitution Avenue NW Washington. D.C. 20001 Dear Judge Jackson, I write in support of my friend Jesse Jackson, Jr. While I am well-aware of the conduct that led to his guilty plea in February, the man I have known for years is an intelligent, charismatic leader who has bettered his community and his country. Jesse has been a tireless advocate for poor and disenfranchised people both in this country and abroad. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee he worked hard to ensure that our nation's spending priorities included help for those who could not speak for themselves, especially the low-income residents of Chicago's Southside. As a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs, he directed the power of the United States government to aid people in need around the globe. Jesse never forgot the civil rights legacy that is so intertwined with his own story. He sponsored and passed a bill to make sure the millions of visitors to the United States Capitol are reminded of the slaves who built that building by renaming its largest room "Emancipation Hall." He sponsored and passed a bill that placed a statue of Rosa Parks in the Capitol -- the first African-American woman so honored. These two symbolic gestures will last long after Jesse has completed his punishment and will always be a testament to his efforts in Congress to honor those who came before him. As you decide his sentence, please weigh his good works against his bad acts. I hope you will find leniency appropriate and that a sentence below the Sentencing Guidelines is just. Mr. Jackson's conduct was inexcusable. but his efforts on behalf of those less fortunate than himself should not be forgotten. Sin erely, Robert S. Strauss Building 1333 New Hampshire Avenue, NW. I Washington, DC. 20036-1564 202.887.4000 1 fax 202.887.4288