Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) Indicted
The Most Open and Ethical Congress in History Off to a Rousing Start
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The Justice Department announced the indictment of Representative William Jefferson[*] (D-New Orleans) on 16 counts including charges of bribery, racketeering, obstruction of justice, and money laundering. Actually, that last charge probably could’ve been money-numbing as Jefferson was famously caught with $90,000 of bribe receipts hidden away in his freezer.
It’s early in the life of this latest political scandal, but thus far, the silence from Capitol Hill has been deafening. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi boldly promised to run the “most open and ethical Congress” in the nation’s history. The numbers aren’t in yet, but if a Congress can be judged on the length of time it takes from its installation to the first indictment of a member of the controlling party, than this Congress must have set a new record. It has been just 151 days since America’s Mother-in-Law™ was handed the gavel, and already she has to use it to chase one of her own out of the House.
Or will she? The May 24th edition of Roll Call (sub. req.) had some disturbing details about Speaker Pelosi’s reluctance to subject her “most open and ethical” Congress to the scrutiny of a functioning Ethics Committee.
Read on…
More than a year after the House ethics committee voted to launch an investigation into the activities of embattled Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), the panel appears to have stalled in that effort and it is unclear if it has pursued the matter at all since Democrats took control of the chamber in January. […]
Attempts to contact Jefferson were unsuccessful, but a spokeswoman said she was unaware of any communications between the lawmaker’s office and the ethics panel this year. “Not to my knowledge,” said Remi Braden-Cooper. “I don’t believe we’ve been contacted and we would have no further comment.”
No contact from the Ethics Committee for a member known to be under investigation for at least two years? How can that be? Apparently, our intrepid ethics warrior Speaker Pelosi has been fiddling while the Jefferson investigation burned, failing to appoint a pool of Democrats from which to form an investigating subcommittee of the Ethics panel.
When then-ethics Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) and ranking member Howard Berman (D-Calif.) first announced the Jefferson inquiry on May 17, 2006, they named GOP Reps. Melissa Hart (Pa.) and Tom Latham (Iowa), as well as Democratic Reps. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (Ohio) and Adam Schiff (Calif.) to serve on the investigative subcommittee.
Yet Hart lost her re-election bid in November and the panel never tapped another lawmaker to serve on the subcommittee — the Members serving on investigative subcommittees are a matter of public record. […]
Another [factor] is that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has yet to name for this Congress the Democrats’ 10-member “ethics pool” — the group of Members preselected by their respective party leaders to serve on investigative subcommittees as they are needed.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) named his pool in early May. It comprises GOP Reps. Latham, Rob Bishop (Utah), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Ander Crenshaw (Fla.), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (Fla.), Phil English (Pa.), Frank Lucas (Okla.), Sue Myrick (N.C.), Mike Simpson (Idaho) and Greg Walden (Ore.).
Following their Speaker’s lead, The Ethics Committee hasn’t even held a meeting on Jefferson since the Democrats took control of the House.
…it is generally the practice of the ethics committee to release a public statement when they carry over an investigation from one Congress to the next, which requires a vote by the full committee, according to a former member of the committee.
Past statements available on the committee’s Web site show that was the case in carried-over investigations into Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) in 2006 and then-Reps. Earl Hilliard (D-Ala.) in 2001 and Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) in 1999.
The committee has not released a similar statement on the Jefferson investigation, despite being five months into the new session. […]
Additionally, one knowledgeable Congressional source who declined to be named said there have been no subcommittee meetings on the Jefferson matter this Congress.
Pelosi has had her head firmly planted in the sand over Jefferson from the very beginning of the investigation. He was allowed to stand for re-election in November despite being under Federal investigation. He was allowed to keep his seat on the powerful tax law writing House Ways and Means committee in the last Congress, despite being under investigation for accepting bribes. And he was seated by this Congress in January, despite the ongoing investigation.
But then again, Pelosi has demonstrated that she doesn’t really think bribery is that big a deal. After all, she touted Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), an impeached Federal judge, for the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee. Hastings was impeached and convicted by a Democrat controlled Congress for allegations of accepting bribes while on the bench.
In fairness to the Speaker, the Justice Department investigation of Jefferson was largely complete before she took over Congress, so it’s not as if her inactions have prevented him from facing the music for his alleged crimes. However, the Speaker’s inability to police her House has left the Congress woefully unprepared to deal with the indictment. The Ethics Committee will now have to take up the matter from a standing start, rather than from a run. The “most open and ethical Congress in the nation’s history” is looking more and more like a euphemism for “business as usual.”
[*...in his freezer. - Moe Lane]
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Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) Indicted 13 Comments (0 topical, 13 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Envisioning when all that is Left is the Right.
See http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/4/141153/7952
So, if you think Kossacks aren't upset at this criminal moron, think again. Some excerpts. First, $90,000 in bribes in $90,000 in bribes:
This isn't a court of law. Our representatives in Congress are held to a higher standard, or at least they're supposed to be and I want anyone who has $90,0000 of marked money hidden in their freezer gone, out, shamed into resignation if they don't resign (especially now that numerous charges have been file).
Second, a call to higher standards for this Congress:
The "culture of corruption" line was meaningless if we don't hold our own to a higher standard. Jefferson should resign, and barring that should be expelled. It's not necessarily about whether he's guilty in a court of law or not; members of Congress should hold their title with prestige and honor, and even the appearance of impropriety is unacceptable.
Finally, a little leftist rage at an unambiguous criminal:
The Democrats, Louisiana and everyone associated with the Crook Jefferson should compel the SOB to get the hell out NOW, and if he does not expell him from Congress. Is there no provision for doing this?
Of course there must be, Nancy Pelosi, so invoke it,
NOW.
Thank you
New Mexico Democrat
Criminal behavior is criminal behavior, independent of political party. Standards are standards. Impeachment is on the table when the crimes warrant it.
Now, watch this drive.
The noisemakers at DKOS are just noise -- I'm waiting for Pelosi, Hoyer, Clyburn & the other Democrat leaders to ask for Jefferson's resignation. It could happen, but I'm not holding my breath.
Why the democratic leadership went blithely on ignoring this. Why is Diane Feinstein still in the senate. And why was Alcee hastings even allowed on the intel committee.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
An indicted Rep has to step down until cleared and an indicted Dem gets a promotion.
Just because you have the right, doesn't mean you should.
ABSCAM Murtha's going to call for his resignation?
Impeached, convicted and removed Judge Hastings is going to call for his resignation?
The Most Ethical Congress in History is a joke.
If we could prevail upon Boehner to *not* file an amicus brief on ... in his FREEZER's behalf.
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[F]or by the fundamental law of Nature, man being to be preserved as much as possible, when all cannot be preserved, the safety of the innocent is to be preferred...
-John Locke
He must be related to William Perry. The fridge and the freezer. New WWF tagteam.
Just because you have the right, doesn't mean you should.
the hammer is coming soon!
Managing Editor
What's latest on Delay's legal woes? Has his prosecutor gotten the "Nifong Award" yet?
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
Weight Watchers hiring Rosie O'Donnell as a spokesperson will happen sooner than Pelosi investigating Jefferson.
Your Humble Servant
http://www.liberal-hypocrisy.com/blog/
The CONgressman has shamed us ALL!
http://osi-speaks.blogspot.com/2007/06/lousiana-congressman-william-cash...
With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see right.
I can unequivocally state that the Democratic base is close to universally applauding the indictment of this crook.
A lot of Congressional inaction was due to understanding that the "Rule of Law" meant that you waited for third party legal action to take place, THEN you hang the dog out to dry. The other shoe has fallen. Jefferson won't have to wait long to be gone from office - guaranteed.
Now, watch this drive.