Jesse Jackson Sued for $100,000

Want to book Jesse Jackson for a speech?

Make sure you have $75,000 and a private jet available. That's what the reverend charged for a late-2007 speech in Trinidad, but then never showed for the appearance, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday in Chicago.

The AEI Speakers Bureau is suing Jackson for $100,000, claiming that his no-show cost the firm a $63,932 commission and left them with a $36,068 bill for a chartered private jet. Jackson's signed agreement with AEI called for him to address a November 2007 political rally for the United National Congress.

According to a complaint filed in Cook County Circuit Court, Jackson "cited a desire to avoid the perception of showing favoritism to a Trinidad and Tobago political party as his reason for not fulfilling his contractual duties."

It does not appear that Jackson pocketed his $75,000 fee. In addition to Jackson, AEI arranged paid speaking gigs at the gathering for Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, both of whom flew commercial to Trinidad.


via