Rev. Jesse Jackson on Jesse Jr. "He is down, but he will get back up again"

WASHINGTON–The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson on Thursday in an MSNBC interview said his son, former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. who is facing prison time, is going through “a sad chapter, but not his last chapter.”

Asked what future awaits his son, Jackson said, “I do not know whether politics or not. I know it is a sad chapter, but not his last chapter. He is 47 years old. He is a writer, he is a thinker, he is a speaker, he is a strategist and so his will for public service continues. He is down, but he will get back up again, and he will get back lots of family love.

“He is down, but he will get back up again, and he will get back lots of family love,” Jackson said.

Jackson Jr. faces a sentence of up to five years after pleading guilty on Wednesday in federal court to a variety of schemes to convert campaign funds–and other money–to personal use. His wife Sandi, a former Chicago alderman, plead guilty to a charge of filing a false federal tax return. She will be sentenced on July 1; Jackson has a June 28 sentencing date. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Wilkins told both former political office holders that with their guilty plea, they forfeit the right to public office.