Aaron Banks is not going quietly.

The former president of the Jackson City Council just had his lawyers file a motion Thursday that could FORCE federal prosecutors to tip their hand before his bribery trial even starts. The filing, dropped in federal court June 26, targets Count Three of the indictment and makes a bold argument: the government has been cheating.

Here is the deal. Count Three says Banks took "$10,000.00 in cash AND OTHER THINGS OF VALUE" in exchange for his vote on a development deal. One count. Multiple alleged bribes bundled together like a combo meal. Banks's lawyers say you cannot do that. Under federal bribery law, each separate bribe is its own individual crime. You do not get to lump them all together and let a jury pick whichever story they like.

What are the "other things of value" the feds keep referencing but never name in Count Three? The indictment drops hints elsewhere. We are talking about an alleged job for Banks's DAUGHTER and a DRIVER for his campaign. Banks says none of it happened. He has pleaded not guilty to everything and is fighting every single allegation.

But here is why this matters legally. If the charge stands as written, you could end up with six jurors believing the $10,000 story and six believing the daughter's job story, and the judge calls that a conviction. Banks's team says that is NOT a unanimous verdict. And without knowing which bribe the jury actually bought, Banks cannot even claim double jeopardy if prosecutors ever try to come at him again.

The lawyers pulled up a nearly identical case from the Virgin Islands, United States v. Tutein, where a judge threw out a bribery count for this exact reason. The ruling said it plainly: "every corrupt offer warrants a separate charge." Banks is asking Judge Daniel Jordan to do the same thing here.

Banks's team is not asking for the count to be dismissed. They want something cleaner. Option A: make prosecutors PICK ONE bribery theory and stick with it all the way to the jury. Option B: at minimum, tell the jury it must unanimously agree on WHICH alleged bribe they are convicting him of before they can check the guilty box.

The lawyers say Option A is better for everyone. Cleaner instructions. Fewer fights over what evidence comes in. Less chance of the government throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Banks is one of three defendants in the case. Co-defendant Jody Owens and former Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba are also charged. The feds have not responded to the motion yet. Trial is later this year in the Southern District of Mississippi. Stay tuned.