Thread: FBI Searches Office of Louisiana Congressman

FBI Searches Office of Louisiana Congressman
By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - FBI agents searched the congressional office of Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana Saturday evening in connection with a public corruption investigation that has already netted two guilty pleas by two associates, authorities said.

The search began at 7:15 p.m. EDT in the Rayburn House Office Building, where Jefferson's office is located, said Debra Weierman, an FBI spokeswoman.

It was not clear what agents were looking for and Weierman said she could provide no additional details because the affidavit supporting the search warrant was sealed.

But she indicated the search could take several hours.

FBI agents searched Jefferson's homes in Washington and New Orleans last August, hauling away boxes and bags from one of the residences.

Jefferson, a Democrat in his eighth congressional term, declared his innocence Monday during news conference outside the federal building in New Orleans and said he will not resign in the face of the investigation that has resulted in guilty pleas from two people who implicated him in a bribery scheme.

"I would take full responsibility for any crime that I committed, if that were the case. But I will not plead guilty to something I did not do, no matter how things are made to look and no matter the risk," Jefferson said the news conference.

He took no questions and said he was there "to declare, among other things, my continued intention to serve."

Jefferson said if indicted he was "prepared to answer these charges formally when and if the time comes."

Jefferson said he was addressing the situation because he believed his constituents deserved to hear some response to recent publicity about the case.

He said the guilty pleas in federal court in Virginia came from friends who succumbed to enormous pressure from the federal government.

"In order to protect themselves, they have now characterized their relationship with me, or with my family, in ways that fit neatly within the government's mistaken legal theories," he said.

In January, former Jefferson aide Brett Pfeffer pleaded guilty to bribery-related charges, saying Jefferson demanded money in exchange for help in brokering two African telecommunications deals.

Vernon Jackson, chief executive of iGate Inc., a Louisville, Ky., telecommunications firm, subsequently pleaded guilty to bribery, admitting he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Jefferson and his family members in exchange for the congressman's help obtaining business deals in Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon.

The House Ethics Committee has opened an inquiry into the case.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060521/...MzBHNlYwM3MDM-

Tape Shows Lawmaker Taking $100G
By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A congressman under investigation for bribery was caught on videotape accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from an FBI informant whose conversations with the lawmaker also were recorded, according to a court document released Sunday. Agents later found the cash hidden in his freezer.

At one audiotaped meeting, Rep. William Jefferson D-La., chuckles about writing in code to keep secret what the government contends was his corrupt role in getting his children a cut of a communications company's deal for work in Africa.

As Jefferson and the informant passed notes about what percentage the lawmaker's family might receive, the congressman "began laughing and said, 'All these damn notes we're writing to each other as if we're talking, as if the FBI is watching,'" according to the affidavit.

Jefferson, who represents New Orleans, has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.

As for the $100,000, the government says Jefferson got the money in a leather briefcase last July 30 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Arlington. The plan was for the lawmaker to use the cash to bribe a high-ranking Nigerian official — the name is blacked out in the court document — to ensure the success of a business deal in that country, the affidavit said.

All but $10,000 was recovered on Aug. 3 when the FBI searched Jefferson's home in Washington. The money was stuffed in his freezer, wrapped in $10,000 packs and concealed in food containers and aluminum foil.

Two of Jefferson's associates have pleaded guilty to bribery-related charges in federal court in Alexandria. One, businessman Vernon Jackson of Louisville, Ky., admitted paying more than $400,000 in bribes to the lawmaker in exchange for his help securing business deals for Jackson's telecommunications company in Nigeria and other African countries.

The new details about the case emerged after federal agents searched Jefferson's congressional office on Capitol Hill Saturday night and Sunday. The nearly 100-page affidavit for a search warrant, made public Sunday with large portions blacked out, spells out much of the evidence so far.

The document includes excerpts of conversations between Jefferson and an unidentified business executive from northern Virginia. She agreed to wear a wire after she approached the FBI with complaints that Jefferson and an associate had ripped her off in a business deal.

Jefferson's lawyer, Robert Trout, contended that the prosecutors' disclosure was "part of a public relations agenda and an attempt to embarrass Congressman Jefferson. The affidavit itself is just one side of the story which has not been tested in court," Trout said in a statement.

The affidavit says Jefferson is caught on videotape at the Ritz-Carlton as he takes a reddish-brown briefcase from the trunk of the informant's car, slips it into a cloth bag, puts the bag into his 1990 Lincoln Town Car and drives away.

The $100 bills in the suitcase had the same serial numbers as those found in Jefferson's freezer.

While the name of the intended recipient of the $100,000 is blacked out, other details in the affidavit indicate he is Abubakar Atiku, Nigeria's vice president. He owns a home in Potomac, Md., that authorities have searched as part of the Jefferson investigation.

Jefferson assured the FBI informant in their coded conversations that he paid the money to the Nigerian official, even though the money was still in Jefferson's possession when agents searched his home Aug. 3.

On Aug. 1, two days after Jefferson picked up the $100,000, the informant called Jefferson to ask about the status of "the package."

Jefferson responded: "I gave him the African art that you gave me and he was very pleased."

When Jefferson and the informant had dinner at a Washington restaurant on May 12, 2005, the FBI was listening, too. Jefferson indicates he will need an increased stake in the profits of one deal, the affidavit said. Instead of the 7 percent stake originally agreed upon, he writes "18-20" on a piece of paper and passes it to the informant.

That is when negotiations move ahead and notes go back and forth, ending with Jefferson's laughter about the FBI watching it all.

Throughout the conversations, Jefferson makes attempts to deflect direct connections to any bribes.

He tells the informant at one point that money should be paid to businesses operated by his children. "I make a deal for my children. It wouldn't be me," Jefferson said, according to the affidavit.

In a different conversation, Jefferson seeks to distance himself from bribes that must be paid to Nigerian government officials to facilitate transactions.

"If he's gotta pay Minister X, we don't want to know. It's not our deal," Jefferson told the witness, according to the affidavit. "We're not paying Minister X a damn thing. That's all, you know, international fraud crap. We're not doing that. We're not doing any of that that gets us (unintelligible)."

The affidavit also spells out "seven other schemes" in which Jefferson was involved; nearly all were blacked out in the document.

The Jefferson investigation has provided fodder for Republicans who have suffered black eyes in the investigations of current and former GOP lawmakers, including Tom DeLay and Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

Jefferson, who has pledged not to resign from Congress in the face of the bribery investigation, speculated about his political future in one of the recorded conversations.

When the informant asked Jefferson about his political plans, he responded: "I'm gonna get your deal out of the way ... and I probably won't last long after that."

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/sto...0060521DCLB108



Lawmaker taped accepting cash: court document
By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FBI agents videotaped Rep. William Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, accepting $100,000 in cash they said was intended as a bribe for a Nigerian official and later found $90,000 of the money hidden in his freezer, according to a court document released on Sunday.

The document said the eight-term congressman received the cash from an FBI informant, who approached the bureau in March 2005 with her suspicion that Jefferson and two business associates conspired to defraud her out of $3.5 million.

Jefferson, a senior member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has been under investigation for his role in helping a Nigerian company with an Internet venture. He has maintained his innocence in the matter.

The court document was the basis for an FBI search of Jefferson's congressional office on Saturday and Sunday. The FBI had no comment on what it found in the 18-hour search.

According to the document, the FBI recorded a series of conversations between Jefferson and the informant, leading up to a July 30, 2005, meeting at a hotel in the Virginia suburbs of Washington. What happened next was captured by the FBI on videotape, the document said.

"At the close of the meeting, (the informant) and Congressman Jefferson exited the building and stood before the open trunk of (the informant's) car. At that time, Congressman Jefferson reached in and removed a reddish-brown colored leather briefcase which contained $100,000 cash in denominations of $100 bills," according to the court document.

"He placed the briefcase in a reddish-brown colored cloth bag, then took the bag, containing the briefcase and the $100,000 in cash and placed it inside the passenger compartment of his 1990 Lincoln Town Car and drove off."

According to the document, the money was to be used to bribe a high-ranking Nigerian government official who had agreed to help an American telecommunications company do business in Nigeria.

FBI agents searched Jefferson's Washington residence on August 3 and found $90,000 of the cash in his freezer, stuffed in frozen food containers and aluminum foil, the document said.

'OBVIOUS ATTEMPT TO EMBARRASS'

Jefferson's attorney, Robert Trout, criticized the FBI for releasing the court document, which he said was "an obvious attempt to embarrass Congressman Jefferson" on the part of prosecutors who have not charged the lawmaker with any crime.

"It would not be appropriate to comment on the details in the affidavit at this time," Trout said. "The congressman has consistently maintained his innocence, and if he is charged he will respond at the appropriate time."

In a statement last week, Jefferson denied any wrongdoing and said he had no intention of stepping down.

"I wish to say emphatically that in all of my actions here under scrutiny, that I never intended to dishonor my office, or you, the public, and I certainly did not sell my office," Jefferson said.

A Kentucky businessman pleaded guilty earlier this month to bribing Jefferson.

Louisville technology executive Vernon Jackson, who faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000, has agreed to help federal investigators as they examine Jefferson's dealings with Jackson's company, iGate Inc.

According to court records filed in the plea deal, Jefferson helped secure a deal with a Nigerian company called Netlink Digital Television and in return demanded payments to a company maintained in the name of his wife and children.

Brett Pfeffer, a former Jefferson aide, pleaded guilty in January to bribery charges for his role in the deal, and seven Jefferson staffers told the House in March they had been served with subpoenas.

(Additional reporting by JoAnne Allen)


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060522/...RtBHNlYwMxNjk5

Amid Katrina Chaos, Congressman Used National Guard to Visit Home
Two Heavy Trucks, Helicopter Were Involved in Lawmaker's Trip at Height of Crisis
by JAKE TAPPER - ABC News

Sept. 13, 3005 — Amid the chaos and confusion that engulfed New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck, a congressman used National Guard troops to check on his property and rescue his personal belongings — even while New Orleans residents were trying to get rescued from rooftops, ABC News has learned.

On Sept. 2 — five days after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast — Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., who represents New Orleans and is a senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, was allowed through the military blockades set up around the city to reach the Superdome, where thousands of evacuees had been taken.

Lt. Col. Pete Schneider of the Louisiana National Guard tells ABC News that during the tour, Jefferson asked that the truck take him to his home on Marengo Street, in the affluent uptown neighborhood in his congressional district. According to Schneider, this was not part of Jefferson's initial request.

Jefferson defended the expedition, saying he set out to see how residents were coping at the Superdome and in his neighborhood. He also insisted that he did not ask the National Guard to transport him. "I did not seek the use of military assets to help me get around my city," Jefferson told ABC News. "There was shooting going on. There was sniping going on. They thought I should be escorted by some military guards, both to the convention center, the Superdome and uptown."

The water reached to the third step of Jefferson's house, a military source familiar with the incident told ABC News, and the vehicle pulled up onto Jefferson's front lawn so he wouldn't have to walk in the water. Jefferson went into the house alone, the source says, while the soldiers waited on the porch for about an hour.

Finally, according to the source, Jefferson emerged with a laptop computer, three suitcases, and a box about the size of a small refrigerator, which the enlisted men loaded up into the truck. "I don't think there is any explanation for an elected official using resources for their own personal use, when those resources should be doing search and rescue, or they should be helping with law enforcement in the city," said Jerry Hauer, a homeland security expert and ABC News consultant.


Jefferson said the trip was entirely appropriate. It took only a few minutes to retrieve his belongings, he said, and the truck stayed at his house for an hour in part to assist neighbors. "This wasn't about me going to my house. It was about me going to my district," he said.

Two Heavy Trucks and Helicopter Involved

The Louisiana National Guard tells ABC News the truck became stuck as it waited for Jefferson to retrieve his belongings. Two weeks later, the vehicle's tire tracks were still visible on the lawn.

The soldiers signaled to helicopters in the air for aid. Military sources say a Coast Guard helicopter pilot saw the signal and flew to Jefferson's home. The chopper was already carrying four rescued New Orleans residents at the time.

A rescue diver descended from the helicopter, but the congressman decided against going up in the helicopter, sources say. The pilot sent the diver down again, but Jefferson again declined to go up the helicopter.

After spending approximately 45 minutes with Jefferson, the helicopter went on to rescue three additional New Orleans residents before it ran low on fuel and was forced to end its mission. "Forty-five minutes can be an eternity to somebody that is drowning, to somebody that is sitting in a roof, and it needs to be used its primary purpose during an emergency," said Hauer.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Brendan McPherson told ABC News, "We did have an aircraft that responded to a signal of distress where the congressman was located. The congressman did decline rescue at the time so the helicopter picked up three other people.

"I can't comment on why the congressman decided not to go in the aircraft," McPherson said. "Did it take a little more time to send the rescue swimmer back a second time? Yes … You'd have to ask the congressman if it was a waste of time or not."

The Louisiana National Guard then sent a second five-ton truck to rescue the first truck, and Jefferson and his personal items were returned to the Superdome.

Schneider said he could not comment on whether the excursion was appropriate. "We're in no position to comment on an order given to a soldier. You're not going to get a statement from the Louisiana National Guard saying whether it was right or wrong. That was the mission we were assigned."

Jefferson insisted the expedition did not distract from rescue efforts. "They actually picked up a lot of people while we were there," he said. "The young soldier said, 'It's a good thing we came up here because a lot of people would not have been rescued had we not been in the neighborhood.'"


Jefferson's Homes Searched in Unrelated Investigation

In an unrelated matter, authorities recently searched Jefferson's property as part of a federal investigation into the finances of a high-tech firm. Last month FBI officials raided Jefferson's house as well as his home in Washington, D.C., his car and his accountant's house.

Jefferson has not commented on that matter, except to say he is cooperating with the investigation. But he has emerged as a major voice in the post-Katrina political debate. "The levee system that had protected New Orleans for hundreds of years had failed," he said on the House floor on Sept. 7. "Our city was inundated, 80 percent of it, with deadly water. Thousands of lives were lost, many drowned, trapped in their homes. Others were lost trying to escape the fury."


Last week, Jefferson set up a special trust fund for contributions to his legal defense in light of the FBI investigation. A senior federal law enforcement source tells ABC News that investigators are interested in learning if Jefferson moved any materials relevant to the investigation. Jefferson says he did not.


ABC News' Sarah H. Rosenberg, Chris Isham and Ted Gerstein contributed to this report.


http://abcnews.go.com/US/HurricaneKa...1123495&page=1



*TY*


{{ Am I the only one to see something wrong with this picture ??

Compaining about how many people were "abandoned by the Administration" while he is checking on *his* house and collecting *his* things.

The city is decimated -- and he sets up a fund for donations to his legal bills ?? ****


Jefferson taking heat for personal use of government resources
By ELLEN TANDY

New Orleans Congressman William Jefferson (D) is taking some heat for using government resources for his personal purposes during the recovery and rescue efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

Military sources say that Jefferson used a National Guard escort to retrieve personal belongings from his flooded home, and when the large vehicle became stuck on his front lawn, the escorts motioned to a helicopter rescue crew flying overhead. On seeing the commotion on the ground, the crew thought Jefferson was trapped in his home and attempted to retrieve him from the house by lowering a diver to the congressman's second-story balcony.

Jefferson is being criticized for his actions, not only for the use of government resources, but also because there were still many people on their rooftops in need of rescue -- people who could have been saved while the crew was focused on the congressman. Jefferson maintains that he did nothing wrong. "I did not seek the use of military assets," Jefferson said. "There was shooting going on. They felt I needed to be secured with military guards."

The helicopter crew eventually left without the congressman when another National Guard truck came to aid the first vehicle.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/...erson001.shtml



[i]The details that are being left out of this 'bare bones' version :

first crew comendered was six National Guardsmen who were required to wait over an hour on the front porch while Jefferson went thru his home; packed a few small boxes, three briefcases and a laptop which he had the Guardsmen load for him. He had the Guardsmen back the truck up to his front porch "so he wouldn't have to get his shoes wet"; since he was in his house so long, the five ton vehicle sank up to it's axles in the flooded yard. So then they called to a helicopter which was making rescues ... Jefferson refused to get in the 'copter with the other passeners. He wanted them to drop them off and come back for him alone. After forty five minutes the helicopter left when a second truck arrived at Jeffersons' house. The second truck (with six more Guardsmen) was then loaded with the above mentioned items plus a two more boxes and took Jefferson back to the airport. A third truck ( with eight guardsmen ) was dispatched to tow out the first truck.

Time wasted : 3 1/2 hours ( not including the additional two to tend to the mired truck )
National Guardsmen tied up from their PRIMARY mission which was to rescue the constituants the "Distinguished Gentlman" claims to represent : 26
Number of four letter words used towards the Guardsmen : they lost count... he seems really attached to his lawn and was also afraid that Air Force One would notice he was 'missing'


((I have the information from one of the National Guardsmen present.))

Originally Posted by Bitpower

Sounds pretty typical in America. Corrupt politicans, corrupt police, corrupt government, corrupt president, and corrupt judges. My only question is what did I leave out in the list?

Actually, you worded this wrong. It should say TYPICAL AROUND THE WORLD. The United States is not the only country with corrupt politicians. Power has a way of corrupting no matter your nationality.

SPOOF ALERT !!


Rep. Jefferson Hid Cash to Protect Colleagues
by Scott Ott

(2006-05-22) — As the FBI continued to build a bribery case against Rep. William Jefferson, D-LA, sources close to the lawmaker say that the $90,000 of bribe money that agents found in his freezer was there for “safekeeping.”

“He wanted to make sure that that cash didn’t fall into the hands of corrupt politicians who might be tempted to sell their influence,” said one unnamed associate. “When that kind of dough is waved in the face of some of his colleagues, it could overwhelm their natural integrity. So he was taking that money out of circulation to protect the entire Congress from the risk of corruption.”

According to an affidavit, the cash was part of a $100,000 payment made to Rep. Jefferson by an informant wearing a wire as the FBI listened in.

The anonymous source said the Congressman is now concerned that even the FBI may be tainted.

“What’s become of federal law enforcement,” he said, “when our own Justice Department is caught up in trying to bribe honest legislators? The big question now is ‘What did the Attorney General know, and when did he know it?’”

An unnamed FBI spokesman said the cash was found wrapped in aluminum foil inside a number of freezer containers.

Another Jefferson associate explained that, “the Congressman simply sealed up the money to protect it from the culture of corruption. It can grow anywhere, you know.”

Listen Now: Podcast: Download

http://www.scrappleface.com/?p=2264



Comment by boberin — May 22, 2006 @ 8:05 am

Will anyomne elect a guy named William Jefferson anything ever again?
Those names seems to get folks off on the wrong foot somehow

Comment by Mr Sign Up Sheet — May 22, 2006 @ 8:14 am

Trying to keep it out of those corrupt Republicans hands. What a Patriot!!

Comment by kwl — May 22, 2006 @ 8:15 am

One criminal named William Jefferson DOWN

one to go…

Comment by Mr Sign Up Sheet — May 22, 2006 @ 8:16 am

Good Moorrrnniingg all you corrupt Right Wingers.

So the dike money is in his freezer? Dang, the cleanup crews better check all the freezers, they will either find government money or Jimmy Hoffa

Comment by Ms RightWing, Ink — May 22, 2006 @ 8:18 am

morning all,
The family is fine!

How are we going to get anyone to run for congress if we keep taking away the bribery perks? I say we check RINO Mccain’s deep freeze next.

Deus est Semper Fidelis

Comment by SGT USMC 1ea — May 22, 2006 @ 8:39 am


WOW! A corrupt congressman - Who’d of thunk it?

Comment by SeaDog — May 22, 2006 @ 8:39 am

…And the money in the freezer turned “Blue”? Who’d a thunk it from the paragons of morality?

Comment by onlineanalyst — May 22, 2006 @ 8:41 am


No, no Ms. RW, Jimmy Hoffa is buried at a horse farm in Milford Michigan! Haven’t you heard?

Durn that thieving, bribing, stinging FBI! I’m sure Mr. Jefferson (patriot named for a patriot) was just holding that money because of all the patriots’ pictures on it!

Comment by MargeinMI — May 22, 2006 @ 8:46 am

Marge, collecting portraits was he? Could be…

Comment by boberin — May 22, 2006 @ 8:49 am


Have a heart! Rep. Billy Jeff was only securing his funds in his ATM: Alternate Thermal-less Motivator.

Comment by onlineanalyst — May 22, 2006 @ 10:16 am


Is it safe? Gee, can’t ask that without adding additional commentary: the site fires back that I already made that comment.

How many time did Sir Larry ask Dustin Hoffman’s “Marathon Man”?

“Is it safe?” Y’all, and Mr. Jefferson, figure that one out.

Comment by Possumtrot — May 22, 2006 @ 10:23 am

Does anyone else here get a harmonic resonance from the name “William Jefferson”, as in our first “black” president, who also applied the monickers “William Jefferson” C. “the man from Hope.”

Just wondering, and having fun with wordplay on a rainy day.

Comment by Possumtrot — May 22, 2006 @ 10:30 am

[i]They’ve Got Your Money, They’ve Got Mine
(sung to the Tune of “You’ve got Your Troubles, I’ve Got Mine by Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan)

I see that bankrupt look upon your face.
They’ve got your money, they’ve got mine.
They need some cash for a vacation place.
They’ve got your money they’ve got mine.

I used to love driving, I know owe woe owe woe owe woe owe woe.
and it don’t seem so long ago owe woe owe woe owe woe owe.
That we were driving
And we were laughing
The way ay ay that Arabs do due due due due due oooo

You need some sympathy, well sorry guy,
They’ve got your money, they’ve got mine.
Write Exxon a letter, I’m sure they will reply.
They’ve got your money, they’ve got mine.

I too have sold my car today (ta da na)
High gas prices got in the way-ay.

I got some card-board
i made a si-gn
that saaayyyys
will work for foo oooooo oood, will work for foo ooo ooo ooo ooo ood

And so forgive me if I seem a little tired
but I just walked ten miles to Loop 6
with a starving little dachshund, dachshund, dachshund - he looks hungry too.
I’ll try another place, another time.
They’ve got your money, they’ve got mine. [/]i

Comment by TouchyFeely — May 22, 2006 @ 10:39 am


Don’t be so hard on Mr. Jefferson, he just wanted to, “–move on up–to the east side!”

This case has been in the works for a few weeks now. That is why the Dimocrat leaders(?) have been laying off the “culture of corruption” line lately.
Comment by R.A.M. — May 22, 2006 @ 10:43 am

Frozen assets?

Comment by camojack — May 22, 2006 @ 10:43 am


If Mr. Jefferson is found guilty, I bet he can STILL be elected Mayor of either Washington D.C., or in New Orleans.

I’m giving 3 to 1 odds too!

Comment by R.A.M. — May 22, 2006 @ 10:45 am


[i]♪ ♪ ♪ BRIBIN’ JIG IS UP ♪ ♪ ♪

[Tune: “Movin’ On Up”, theme music to the TV program, “The Jeffersons”, music and lyrics by Ja’net Du Bois, performed by Du Bois and Jeff Barry]

[Chorus]
Bribin’ jig is up!
(Jig is up!)
Willie’s at ebb tide
(Willie’s corrupt!)
Lookit them search warrants served by th’ FBI!

Bribin’ gig is corrupt!
(Brib’ry’s corrupt!)
Willie’s startin’ t’ slide
(This Rep. is whupped!)
Cash on ice with chicken pot pie!

[Bridge]
They searched his digs in th’ suburbs
An’ his office awn Capitol Hill
Slick Willie 2’s been jivin’
Scammin’ his bribery drill

Jefferson’s in th’ Big Leagues
Corrupt heavy hitter, he’s fat

Sez he took th’ dough
T’ protect his colleagues
Dey ain’t nothin’ wrong widdat!

[Chorus]
Willie ain’t that corrupt!
(Ain’t that corrupt!)
Try t’ see his side!
(Don’t be abrupt!)
All them C-notes in tin foil wuz from a fish fry!

Bribin’ jig is up!
(Hooray, it’s up!)
Willie’s movin’ his berth
(Movin’ on up!)
To a dee-luxe apartment in…Leavenwo-o-o-orth! [/]i

Comment by The Great Santini — May 22, 2006 @ 1:49 pm

[[[more comments ....]]]]

Jefferson refuses to quit Ways and Means
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Democrats sought to get embattled Rep. William Jefferson to resign his seat on the House's most prestigious committee. "In the interest of upholding the high ethical standard of the House Democratic Caucus, I am writing to request your immediate resignation from the Ways and Means Committee," wrote House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi in the one-sentence correspondence.

The Louisiana Democrat was defiant.

"With respect, I decline to do so," he wrote back to Pelosi."I will not give up a committee assignment that is so vital to New Orleans at this crucial time for any uncertain, long-term political strategy."

Earlier, House Speaker Dennis Hastert demanded that the FBI surrender documents it seized and remove agents involved in the weekend raid of Jefferson's office, under what lawmakers of both parties said were unconstitutional circumstances. "We think those materials ought to be returned," Hastert said, adding that the FBI agents involved "ought to be frozen out of that (case) just for the sake of the constitutional aspects of it."

The Saturday night search of Jefferson's office on Capitol Hill brought Democrats and Republicans together in rare election-year accord, with both parties protesting agency conduct they said violated the Constitution's separation of powers doctrine.

Support from a majority of the House would be required to strip Jefferson of his seat on the panel. It was not immediately clear whether such a vote has been planned, according to knowlegable officials of both parties who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Jefferson, meanwhile, on Wednesday filed a motion asking U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan to order the FBI to return all of the documents taken from his office during the 15-hour search. Hogan was the judge who last Thursday issued the warrant authorizing the search.

The congressman also asked that FBI and Justice Department attorneys be prohibited from reviewing the documents and that they be locked up until the judge acts on the motion.

Jefferson's motion said the search violated "speech and debate" protections in the Constitution to insure the independence of lawmakers.

Presidential administrations and the Congress have routinely subpoenaed information from each other, and often they have refuse to cede the materials sought.

This is the first time the branch seeking the information dispatched its law enforcement arm to wrest information from the office of a sitting congressman who is the target of a probe.

Republicans, meanwhile, were being careful to protest the raid without defending Jefferson, in an increasingly tense relationship with the White House over its use of executive power.

A day earlier, Hastert, R-Ill., complained personally to President Bush about raid. Other House officials have predicted that the case would bring all three branches together at the Supreme Court for a constitutional showdown.

In April, Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., personally told Bush that "the president doesn't have a blank check" during a discussion of Bush's domestic wiretapping program.

Hastert kept up the drumbeat after the FBI's raid of Jefferson's office.

"My opinion is that they took the wrong path," Hastert said after meeting with Bush in the White House. "They need to back up, and we need to go from there."

The developments are the beginning of what lawmakers predict will be a long dispute over the FBI's search of Jefferson's office last weekend. Historians say it was the first raid of a representative's quarters in Congress' 219 years.

FBI agents searched Jefferson's office in pursuit of evidence in a bribery investigation. The search warrant, signed by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan, was based on an affidavit that said agents found $90,000 in cash wrapped and stashed in the freezer of Jefferson's home.

White House officials said they did not learn of the search until after it happened. They pledged to work with the Justice Department to soothe lawmakers.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales tried to strike a conciliatory tone, saying, "We have a great deal of respect for the Congress as a coequal branch of government." But he also defended the search: "We have an obligation to the American people to pursue the evidence where it exists."

Justice Department officials said the decision to search Jefferson's office was made in part because he refused to comply with a subpoena for documents last summer. Jefferson reported the subpoena to the House on Sept. 15, 2005.

___


Associated Press writers David Espo and Mark Sherman contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060524/...MzBHNlYwM3MDM-


He has got to be kidding....

Rep. Jefferson accused of trying to bribe NigerianVP
By STEPHEN MANNING, Associated Press Writer
Tue Jun 6, 6:33 PM ET

GREENBELT, Md. - Rep. William Jefferson called the package he allegedly delivered at midnight to the suburban Maryland home of Nigeria's vice president "African art." Authorities say the "art" was meant to be cash — lots of it.

Court documents filed in the bribery probe of the Louisiana Democrat allege that Jefferson told an FBI informant he took the "art," which authorities believe was code for $100,000 in $100 bills, to the Potomac home of Atiku Abubakar on July 31.

The money was allegedly part of $500,000 the Nigerian vice president sought in return for helping smooth the way for a technology venture in Nigeria that was arranged by Jefferson. Abubakar also reportedly wanted a large stake of the profits from the new business.

The day after he was to have delivered the money, provided by an FBI informant, Jefferson was recorded telling the informant: "I gave him the African art that you gave me and he was very pleased."

The conversation and details of the alleged deal were included in an affidavit filed in August in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt to secure a warrant to search Abubakar's house. The affidavit was unsealed Monday.

It is unclear whether any money was given to Abubakar, who is identified only as "the vice president of Nigeria" in the affidavit.

According to another search warrant affidavit for Jefferson's congressional office, released last month in Washington, $90,000 in cash was found in a freezer at Jefferson's Washington home. A briefcase similar to the one Jefferson is alleged to have used to carry the money was found in a later search of his New Orleans home, according to federal court documents filed there.

The 39-page affidavit released Monday in Maryland, some sections of which remain sealed, identifies the Potomac home as the residence of Jennifer Douglas, Abubakar's wife. Although the search of the residence was mentioned in documents previously released by the courts, names and titles were blacked out to keep them secret.

A lawyer for Abubakar, who is running for president of Nigeria, said Abubakar is cooperating with authorities. Edward L. Weidenfeld said Abubakar's relationship with Jefferson did not extend beyond standard diplomatic meetings.

"There is no relationship or any kind of arrangement of any sort between them," Weidenfeld said.

In Nigeria, where Abubakar kicked off his campaign last week, his spokesman Mohammed Yakubu said they have yet to see details of the allegations. "We don't have anything to say until we have seen these reports or allegations," he said by telephone from Abuja.

Jefferson has strongly denied wrongdoing in the alleged scheme.

The informant was a northern Virginia businesswoman identified by law enforcement officials as Lori Mody. She is said to have gone to the FBI when she believed Jefferson and others were defrauding her on the business deal. Jefferson discussed with her the "payment of bribes to high-ranking foreign government officials," including Abubakar, according to the affidavit.

Jefferson approached Abubakar, claiming he wanted to help an American firm invest $50 million to run Internet services over the wires of Nigerian telecom company Nitel. The venture was to include Mody, a Kentucky telecommunications company called iGate Inc., and the Nigerian firm Rosecom.Net.

The affidavit states Jefferson wanted a stake of 5 percent to 7 percent in the Nigerian venture for his five daughters and one of them, lawyer Jamila Jefferson, to be retained to help set it up.

The congressman met July 18 with Abubakar in Potomac and the vice president "agreed to help secure the necessary approvals" for iGate to begin work in Nigeria, Jefferson said. In return, Abubakar wanted at least 50 percent of the profits from Rosecom.Net and a payment of up to $500,000 before the deal was completed, the documents alleged.

Jefferson, who represents most of New Orleans, has served in Congress since 1990. The raid on his Capitol Hill office sparked outrage from congressional leaders who claimed the Bush administration was violating the separation of powers doctrine. President Bush later sealed FBI files on the raid for 45 days.

Former Jefferson aide Brett Pfeffer has pleaded guilty and was given an eight-year term for his role in the bribery scandal. He is cooperating with authorities. Vernon Jackson, chief executive of iGate, also pleaded guilty to paying more than $400,000 in bribes to Jefferson.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060606/...MzBHNlYwM3MDM-



I am sure the Vice President of Nigeria had to depend on midnight deliveries of African Art from New Orleans

Black Caucus opposes Jefferson treatment
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON - A drive by the Democratic leadership to strip embattled Rep. William Jefferson of his committee post triggered a backlash Thursday as the Congressional Black Caucus opposed the move and said the Louisiana lawmaker deserves a "presumption of innocence."

The caucus chairman, Rep. Melvin Watt of North Carolina, told reporters that some black voters might ask why action was sought against "a black member of Congress" when there was neither precedent nor rule for it.

Jefferson has not been indicted and has denied all wrongdoing in connection with a federal bribery investigation that has netted two convictions. He has rebuffed repeated calls from Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and others to step aside until any involvement is clarified.

Watt spoke after a Democratic leadership group voted to strip Jefferson of his committee post, at least temporarily. The entire rank and file was then summoned to debate the issue but postponed a vote until next week.

A vote by the full House would be required to force Jefferson to step aside.

"I can guarantee" he will not voluntarily step aside, said Melanie Roussell, Jefferson's spokeswoman.

The maneuvering came as part of a determined attempt by Pelosi, D-Calif., to ease Jefferson from his position. "I feel he should step aside," the minority leader told reporters. She declined further comment, but spokeswoman Jennifer Crider said any charge that race was involved was "absolutely untrue. This is about upholding the highest ethical standard for every member of the Democratic caucus."

Democrats intend to campaign against Republicans this fall by accusing them of presiding over a "culture of corruption." Jefferson's continued presence on the committee presumably would allow Republicans to blur the issue in the midterm elections.

Several officials said Watt had spoken up at the meeting of the rank and file to invoke a rule that provides for a five-day delay.

Emerging from the session, he distributed a statement that said the Congressional Black Caucus perhaps has a "unique appreciation of our nation's constitutional guarantee of the presumption of innocence."

The statement added the group "therefore opposes suggestions that some have made to force Rep. Jefferson to resign from Congress or to remove him involuntarily from his position on the Ways and Means Committee in the absence of precedents that have been historically applied and will be consistently applied in the future."

Speaking for himself, Watt was more pointed.

He said the leadership was open to a charge that it was acting out of political expedience. "It's about to blow up in their face," he added.

Referring to black voters, who are among the most loyal Democrats in the electorate, he added, "You've got a whole base of people out there who believe that the Democratic Party takes them for granted already."

If action is taken only against someone who "is a black member of Congress, then our community will legitimately ask what in the world are you doing?"

While Jefferson has not been indicted, two men have been found guilty in the probe.

Brett Pfeffer, a former Jefferson aide, was sentenced to eight years in prison last month for conspiring to commit bribery and aiding and abetting the bribery of a public official.

Vernon Jackson, 53, chief executive of iGate Inc., a Louisville, Ky.-based telecommunications company, pleaded guilty May 3 to paying more than $400,000 in bribes to Jefferson.

Additionally, the FBI claims that it videotaped the Louisianian last summer taking $100,000 in bribe money and that agents later found $90,000 of the money stashed in a freezer in his home.

FBI agents carried out a weekend search of Jefferson's congressional office last month, triggering an outpouring of criticism from congressional leaders claiming they had encroached on Congress' constitutional powers.

In response, Bush ordered the material taken be turned over the a Justice Department official not involved in the investigation.

Race was a further complication in the episode. Jefferson is black, and some Democrats say that black voters could be alienated if he is forced aside.

"The rule is you lose your leadership position or chairmanship" after indictment, said Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, who is also black.

Pelosi recently prevailed on Rep. Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, to step aside as senior member of the ethics committee after questions were raised about some of his legislative actions. But he remains a member of the Appropriations Committee, with broad authority over the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars a year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060609/...on_congress_10


Oh, Yeah - it is because he is BLACK ...

Rep. Jefferson loses Democratic caucus vote
Black Caucus leader cites racial unfairness
Thursday, June 15, 2006


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With members of the Congressional Black Caucus crying double standard, House Democrats met behind closed doors Thursday and voted to strip Rep. William Jefferson of his seat on the Ways and Means Committee.

The move was led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, who already had asked Jefferson to step down voluntarily, a request her embattled counterpart rebuffed.

"This isn't about proof in a court of law. This is about an ethical standard," Pelosi said in a brief statement after the vote. "I wish that the White House would take our lead on this." (Watch Pelosi discuss the severity of the allegations against Jefferson -- 1:20)

Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, Democratic Caucus chairman, said the vote on Jefferson was about 2-1, but he would not divulge the exact tally of the secret ballot, nor would he divulge his own vote.

Ways and Means is a powerful committee that oversees tax legislation. Now that the Democratic Caucus has approved Jefferson's suspension from the committee, the matter will head to the full House for a vote. Clyburn said he didn't know when.

Jefferson, 59, an eight-term Louisiana congressman facing a corruption investigation, attended Thursday's caucus meeting, where he addressed his colleagues, briefly spoke to reporters and left.

Pelosi letter
In a Wednesday letter to Pelosi, Jefferson offered to step down from the committee voluntarily on three conditions: a clear rule must be established for voting legislators off committees; other committee members under investigation must be forced to step down; and Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Louisiana, who represents the adjoining district in Louisiana, must be allowed to temporarily fill Jefferson's seat on the committee.

In the letter, Jefferson wrote that if Pelosi agreed to the terms, then "the dispute in which we are now engaged regarding my service on the Ways and Means Committee is ended without the need for further distress, debate, discussion or divisiveness."

Jefferson has argued that the disciplinary rules of the Democratic Caucus apply only to members who are indicted or are in leadership posts, neither of which apply to him.

Rep. Mel Watt, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, called the decision "unprecedented" and concurred with Jefferson in comments to reporters after the vote.

House rules state that a legislator must be convicted before being removed from a committee, and Democratic Caucus rules state that heads or ranking members of committees must be indicted or be presented with formal charges before being removed.

Jefferson has not been charged with a crime.

"What we've done today is set a standard for regular members that's actually lower -- or higher, depending on how you look at it -- than the standard we set for our chairs or ranking members," Watt said. "We've set a standard that's higher than the House rules require, and that would be fine if we knew what the rule is going forward."

Race factor
Asked if he thought race was a factor in Pelosi's decision, Jefferson replied before the vote, "It's not happened before. The first time it's happening, it's happening to an African-American."

The assertion that race is a factor has already been floated by members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Watt, who question why Rep. Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, a white Democrat who also is under investigation, was allowed to keep his seat on the equally powerful Appropriations Committee.

Mollohan, whose personal finances are being investigated after a complaint filed by a conservative group, stepped down voluntarily from his post on the Ethics Committee, pending resolution of the inquiry.

Watt warned last week that singling out Jefferson would not be received well by black voters.

Thursday, he said, "Our constituents will import their own interpretation into this, and a number of them will import that there's a different standard in our caucus based on race."

Jefferson also raised race in his letter to Pelosi.

"When an African American member of an exclusive committee is asked to resign his committee because of news reports or allegations of wrongdoing, it gives the appearance of unfairness and even racial discrimination if another member continues serving on an exclusive committee under Justice Department investigation as well, particularly if the other member is white, and is not subject to the same treatment," he wrote.

Clyburn, who is a former chairman of the black caucus, said he bears no hard feelings for Pelosi.

"Ms. Pelosi has a right and I think the responsibility to make political decisions in the best interest of this caucus," he said. "These things come with the territory. You have to do what you have to do."

The case
In a May affidavit, the FBI alleged that Jefferson accepted bribes in return for using his office to facilitate business ventures in Africa. (The case against Jefferson)

Jefferson allegedly accepted a $100,000 bribe in June 2005 from an informant cooperating with federal agents in an investigation, according to the FBI. In an August 2005 search of Jefferson's Washington home, agents said they found $90,000 in the lawmaker's freezer.

Pelosi referenced the FBI allegations in her statement after the vote, issuing a warning to fellow Democrats: "I told all of my colleagues, 'Anybody with $90,000 in your freezer, you have a problem with this caucus.' "

Jefferson, whose district includes New Orleans and some of its suburbs, has denied wrongdoing and has vowed to remain in office.

A Kentucky businessman and a former aide to the congressman have pleaded guilty to corruption and have agreed to cooperate with investigators.

In January, former Jefferson aide Brett Pfeffer pleaded guilty to bribery charges.

Vernon Jackson, of Louisville, Kentucky, became involved with Jefferson while trying to secure contracts in Ghana and Nigeria for his telecommunications company, iGate Inc., according to the FBI, which claims that Jefferson conducted "official acts" in exchange for stock in foreign companies.

The aforementioned $100,000 allegedly accompanied foreign stock as payment for Jefferson sending a letter to the vice president of Nigeria and other official acts, the FBI claims.

Jackson, who pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy and bribery charges, has admitted paying more than $400,000 in bribes to a congressman who government sources identify as Jefferson.

The allegations against Jefferson present problems for House Democrats, who have been lambasting Republicans for what they call "a culture of corruption" in a midterm election bid to overtake the House.

CNN's Andrea Koppel contributed to this report.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/...ferson.caucus/

Judge rules FBI raid on congressman's office was legal
By TONI LOCY
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An FBI raid on a Louisiana congressman's Capitol Hill office was legal, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan said members of Congress are not above the law. He rejected requests from lawmakers and Democratic Rep. William Jefferson to return material seized by the FBI in a May 20-21 search of Jefferson's office.

In a 28-page opinion, Hogan dismissed arguments that the first-ever raid on a congressman's office violated the Constitution's protections against intimidation of elected officials.

"Congress' capacity to function effectively is not threatened by permitting congressional offices to be searched pursuant to validly issued search warrants," said Hogan, who had approved the FBI's request to conduct the overnight search of Jefferson's office.

Jefferson had sought the return of several computer hard drives, floppy disks and two boxes of paper documents that FBI agents seized during an 18-hour search of his Rayburn Building office.

At issue was a constitutional provision known as the speech and debate clause, which protects elected officials from being questioned by the president, a prosecutor or a plaintiff in a lawsuit about their legislative work.

"No one argues that the warrant executed upon U.S. Rep. Jefferson's office was not properly administered," Hogan wrote. "Therefore, there was no impermissible intrusion on the Legislature. The fact that some privileged material was incidentally captured by the search does not constitute an unlawful intrusion."

The raid on Jefferson's office angered members of Congress, some of whom threatened to retaliate by tinkering with the FBI and Justice Department budgets.

President Bush stepped in and ordered the solicitor general to take custody of the seized materials so Congress and the Justice Department could work out procedures to deal with similar situations in the future.

The president's 45-day "cooling off period" ended Sunday with no compromise worked out but with assurances from the Justice Department that it would not seek to regain custody of the materials until Hogan ruled on Jefferson's request.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT