KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota has filed a motion to move his federal trial to spring of next year.
On Tuesday the county executive filed a motion for continuance in the Missouri Western District Court to move the trial related to his five count federal indictment from Sept. 14, 2026 to April 19, 2027.
The motion also requests to move LeVota's pre-trial conference that is currently set for Tuesday, Aug. 18.
The motion comes less than one week since the county executive was indicted in federal court for an alleged bribery scheme in connection to the 2026 election of the Jackson County executive.
According to court records, LeVota is facing one count of honest services fraud, one count of federal program bribery, two counts of Travel Act violations, and one count of making a false statement to federal law enforcement agents.
The charges come after LeVota was accused of devising a "scheme and artifice to defraud the citizens of Jackson County" by allegedly promising a full-time position in county government to Legislator DaRon McGee, if he renounced his candidacy for Jackson County executive in the 2026 election.
LeVota has since denied those allegations.
LeVota and his legal team cite the need for additional time to "analyze the facts and conduct an investigation."
Both LeVota and his legal team also claim that the trial will significantly cost the public through lost wages and time for the jurors and lost time for city government that it could otherwise use to uphold its obligations to the public.
At this time, the motion for continuance has not yet been approved nor denied.
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