What is missing in this AP story about Congressman William Jefferson?

[DBear]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/4862047.html

Rep. Jefferson indicted in bribery probe


By LARA JAKES JORDAN and MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press Writers
© 2007 The Associated Press


WASHINGTON — Louisiana congressman William Jefferson received more than $500,000 in bribes and sought millions more in nearly a dozen separate schemes to enrich himself by using his office to broker business deals in Africa, according to a federal indictment Monday.

The charges came almost two years after investigators raided Jefferson's home in Washington and found $90,000 in cash stuffed in his freezer.

The indictment lists 16 counts, including racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. He faces a possible maximum sentence of 235 years.

He is the first U.S. official to face charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits corporate bribery overseas.

Jefferson, through his lawyer, claimed innocence. He will be arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.

The schemes were complicated and Jefferson set up front companies to hide the money and disburse it to family members, prosecutors said.

"But the essence of the charges are really very simple: Mr. Jefferson corruptly traded on his good office and on the Congress," said Chuck Rosenberg, the U.S. attorney in Alexandria.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to push this week for Jefferson to be stripped of his seat on the Small Business Committee, according to a leadership aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been announced.

"If these charges are proven true, they constitute an egregious and unacceptable abuse of public trust and power," said Pelosi, D-Calif. "Democrats are committed to upholding a high ethical standard and eliminating corruption and unethical behavior from the Congress."

House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio said Jefferson should be expelled from Congress if he is found guilty and refuses to resign.

Jefferson, 60, whose congressional district includes New Orleans, has said little about the case publicly. He was re-elected last year despite the investigation.

His lawyer, Robert Trout, on Monday called the indictment "lengthy and creative" and accused prosecutors of "trying to create an offense."

"Even after they turned over every rock, they did not allege in this indictment that (Jefferson) promised anybody any legislation. There is no suggestion that he promised anyone any appropriations. There were no earmarks. There were no government contracts," Trout said during a news conference in Los Angeles.

Trout also said Jefferson has no intention of seeking a plea bargain. "He's obviously not happy about being indicted, but he's confident that when the facts are known he will be vindicated," Trout said about his client. "He is committed, he is confident and he is ready to fight."

Two of Jefferson's associates have struck plea bargains with prosecutors and have been sentenced.

Brett Pfeffer, a former congressional aide, admitted soliciting bribes on Jefferson's behalf and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Another Jefferson associate, Louisville, Ky., telecommunications executive Vernon Jackson, pleaded guilty to paying between $400,000 and $1 million in bribes to Jefferson in exchange for his assistance securing business deals in Nigeria and other African nations. Jackson was sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

Both Pfeffer and Jackson agreed to cooperate in the case against Jefferson.

The impact of the case has stretched across continents and even roiled presidential politics in Nigeria. According to court records, Jefferson told associates he needed cash to pay bribes to the country's vice president, Atiku Abubakar.

Abubakar denied the allegations, which figured prominently in that country's presidential elections in April. He ran for the presidency and finished third.

In Lagos, Nigeria, Abubakar spokesman Garba Shehu said the former vice president "has always denied wrongdoing in the matter."

"He has only had official interaction with the congressman, who the vice president felt deserved a hearing because he was a ranking member of the U.S. Congress," Shehu said. "The vice president was in no way cited in this thing, so we feel vindicated."

While Abubakar is not cited by name, the indictment refers to "Nigerian Official A," a high-ranking official in Nigeria's executive branch who had a spouse in Potomac, Md. One of Abubakar's wives, Jennifer Douglas, lived in that Washington suburb. A search warrant for the Potomac home, combined with the indictment, makes clear that Abubakar is the unnamed Nigerian official.

As co-chair of a congressional caucus dedicated to African investment and trade, Jefferson was ideally positioned to influence business contracts with African governments. The indictment said Jefferson would meet with African officials and write official letters on behalf of businesses that agreed to provide kickbacks.

Court records indicate Jefferson was videotaped taking a $100,000 cash bribe from an FBI informant who felt the congressman and another businessman had bilked her out of millions. Most of that money later turned up in the freezer in Jefferson's home.

In May 2006, the FBI raided Jefferson's congressional office, the first such raid on a congressman's Capitol office. That move sparked a constitutional debate over whether the executive branch had stepped over a boundary.

The raid's legality is still being argued on appeal. House leaders objected to the search, saying it was an unconstitutional intrusion on the lawmaking process. The FBI said the raid was necessary because Jefferson and his legal team had failed to respond to requests for documents.

Some but not all the documents seized in the raid have been turned over Justice Department prosecutors.

Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher said the documents helped bring the case against Jefferson. "Some of those documents that we were able to obtain through the process have indeed supported the charges that are presented today," Fisher said.

Sleuths! The game is afoot!

 

[Skirmisher]

Well he is not a member of AIPAC is he?

 

[DBear]

that's not it...

 

[amadeus]

It's either that he's black or a Democrat.

 

[MobBoss]

Dupe thread. Here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=225777

 

[DBear]

Not really, MobBoss. That thread was about the indictment itself. This thread is about the noticeable omission in the AP story that amadeus stumbled on, that nowhere is his party affiliation listed. Contrast that with the copious amounts of stories before the 2006 election trying to link Republicans and "corruption".

 

[downtown]

Its infered. Pelosi wouldnt have any authoity over his leadership posistions otherwise.

 

[IglooDame]

Its infered. Pelosi wouldnt have any authoity over his leadership posistions otherwise.

Actually as Speaker of the House that's debatable.

It is rather curious, given that they do explicitly note Pelosi's and Boehner's party affiliation in the article.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Never heard of chron

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,277774,00.html

A federal grand jury on Monday indicted Louisiana Democratic Rep. William Jefferson on 16 charges relating to a long-running investigation into bribery, racketeering, obstruction of justice and money laundering

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/04/AR2007060400741.html

Democratic congressman indicted in bribery probe

By James Vicini
Reuters
Tuesday, June 5, 2007; 1:59 AM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic Rep. William Jefferson, accused of hiding $90,000 of intended bribes in his freezer, was charged on Monday with soliciting bribes and paying off a Nigerian official.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/05/congressman.bribery/index.html

It is Jefferson's only committee assignment. His Democratic colleagues had appointed him to the Homeland Security Committee earlier in the year -- a move that outraged some GOP members -- but the nomination was never voted on by the full House of Representatives.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/washington/05jefferson.html?hp

Congressman Sought Bribes, Indictment Says

By DAVID JOHNSTON and JEFF ZELENY
Published: June 5, 2007

WASHINGTON, June 4 — Representative William J. Jefferson, the Louisiana Democrat at the center of an investigation that included an F.B.I. raid at his Congressional office and accusations that he hid $90,000 in bribe money in his home freezer, was indicted Monday by a federal grand jury on 16 corruption-related felony counts.

And finally one other article from the AP
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070605/ap_on_go_co/congressman_probe

GOP seeks to expel Jefferson from House

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer Tue Jun 5, 7:50 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Republicans moved on Tuesday to seek Rep. William J. Jefferson's expulsion from Congress, a day after the Louisiana Democrat was indicted on charges of taking more than $500,000 in bribes.

I never heard of the feller before this story, but I do know one thing after these couple of days. The guy is a democrat

 

[Phlegmak]

Not really, MobBoss. That thread was about the indictment itself. This thread is about the noticeable omission in the AP story that amadeus stumbled on, that nowhere is his party affiliation listed. Contrast that with the copious amounts of stories before the 2006 election trying to link Republicans and "corruption".

No one has to "try" to link Republicans to corruption. The Republicans did that very well.

 

[Cuivienen]

I never heard of the feller before this story, but I do know one thing after these couple of days. The guy is a democrat

He was known to be corrupt in 2006, and the Democrats ran a candidate against him in the 2006 election. (Louisiana's free-for-all elections allow that.) Unfortunately, Karen Carter came up short because of internal rivalries in the New Orleans Democratic Party.

 

[JollyRoger]

That Republican Dennis Hastert was the one that complained even louder than Jefferson about the FBI raid?

 

[Nylan]

No one has to "try" to link Republicans to corruption. The Republicans did that very well.

I believe the term you are searching for is politicians. Either that or you're missing your left eye.

 

[Phlegmak]

I believe the term you are searching for is politicians. Either that or you're missing your left eye.

What I'm speaking about is Republicans, in response to another post. So, no, nothing is wrong with my vision.

 

[downtown]

From the other thread:

In a rush to sneak in that great partisian slam, just about everybody here is missing the real point.

Politicians do not become corrupt because they are Democrats, or Republicans. Membership in one of these parties does not make you more/less likely to become corrupt.

What DOES make somebody corrupt is a LACK OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTIBILITY. Jefferson discovered this as soon as he learned his New Orleans constitutents were going to re-elect him no matter what, so he stopped caring about ethics (which, normally, you have to have to keep your job)

Bob Ney (R-OH-18) was part of an Ohio Republican system that had total control over the state for almost 20 years. Supermajority in the statehouse, so they never had to listen to a democrat. GOP Gov, 2 senators, and most of the congressional delegation. They always won, so they stopped caring.

51 indictments later, and after losing everything but a majority in the statehouse, that has changed.

Duke Cunningham was also in quite a safe district, and worked under some of the most power-crazy Republican house leadership in decades. After over a decade, its a surprise that only 2 of them went to jail.

In the 1970's and 1980's, we saw similar things with Democrats in the US house.

The moral of the story, is that when we stop having competitive elections, and when our media scrunity becomes lack, there will be more Ney's and Jefersons, regardless of that letter in front of their name.

 

[.Shane.]

Well said Downtown. You are definitely my favorite blues-playing Mormon from Ohio.

/starts the single-clap

 

[IglooDame]

That Republican Dennis Hastert was the one that complained even louder than Jefferson about the FBI raid?

Sure he did, as he saw it (correctly, it seems to me) as a possible separation-of-powers issue.

And Mr. Downtown has nailed the underlying issue, IMHO.

 

[GeorgeOP]

The moral of the story, is that when we stop having competitive elections, and when our media scrunity becomes lack, there will be more Ney's and Jefersons, regardless of that letter in front of their name.

But most internet trolls will still say R's are the only ones that are corrupt.

 

[.Shane.]

But most internet trolls will still say R's are the only ones that are corrupt.

Quoted for irony!

ROFL, I had no idea that being an internet troll was an actual attribute of being Democrat/liberal!

 

[JollyRoger]

But most internet trolls will still say R's are the only ones that are corrupt.

I don't know about that. I have seen plenty on the internet defend virtually every alleged corrupt Republican out there, but have no problem attcking non-Republicans for corruption.