Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) filed a petition Wednesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit requesting the full court revisit his case, after a three-judge panel refused to dismiss charges against him in November.

He had appealed the indictment, asserting that prosecutors violated the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause when they provided the grand jury with evidence of his legislative activities.

[IMGCAP(1)]The Fourth Circuit panel rejected that argument, however, ruling that even though evidence included the testimony of several Jefferson staffers, that information did not infringe on Speech or Debate protections.

Jefferson is charged in a 16-count indictment with offering and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to promote business ventures in West African nations.

— Jennifer Yachnin