A prosecution witness was offered $50,000 to testify against Albert Haynesworth in a misdemeanor sexual abuse case, the former Washington Redskins defensive lineman’s lawyer said.
Haynesworth is accused of sliding his credit card into a waitress's bra and touching her breast last February at the upscale W Hotel. He is due to stand trial Aug. 23 in D.C.
A private investigator was told by a witness that the witness was offered the money on behalf of a certain person who he believed was the complaining witness, lawyer A. Scott Bolden said in new court papers. The Associated Press had reported that the witness was approached by a man that the waitress introduced as her attorney, but the person was not the waitress's attorney, Bolden said.
“It was a W employee who says that he was approached by someone connected to the complaining witness,” Bolden told News4's Chris Gordon. “An offer of money was made in exchange for his testimony. The only reason you would make such an offer is because you’re concerned about that witness’s testimony, and that same witness says that the contact between the parties was consensual that night.”
The waitress had her hands full with glasses when Haynesworth tried to pay the bill, according to the police report. He asked if he could put his credit card in her blouse and she said yes. But the waitress alleged that Haynesworth went further by sticking his hand down her shirt and fondling her.
Bolden has said the incident didn't take place.
Haynesworth’s agent told Gordon the alleged $50,000 offer proves “that this case always has been and always will be about money, and I believe that if the defendant wasn’t Albert Haynesworth, then the case would have never seen the inside of a grand jury room, much less a court room.”
The Redskins traded Haynesworth last month to the New England Patriots after his season-long feud with Redskins coach Mike Shanahan.
Bolden did not immediately return a call from the Associated Press seeking comment. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office also did not immediately return a phone message.
