Lt what happened to the congressman that you speak so highly of?

[Cade Is Here]

Oh let me guess...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. William Jefferson, D-Louisiana, was indicted Monday on federal charges of racketeering, soliciting bribes and money-laundering in a long-running bribery investigation into business deals he tried to broker in Africa.

The indictment handed up in federal court in Alexandria., Virginia, Monday is 94 pages long and lists 16 alleged violations of federal law that could keep Jefferson in prison for up to 235 years, according to a Justice Department official who has seen the document.

Among the charges listed in the indictment, said the official, are racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money-laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case.(Read the indictment [PDF])

Jefferson is accused of soliciting bribes for himself and his family, and also for bribing a Nigerian official.

Almost two years ago, in August 2005, investigators raided Jefferson's home in Louisiana and found $90,000 in cash stuffed into a box in his freezer

Jefferson maintains innocence
Jefferson, 63, whose Louisiana district includes New Orleans, has said little about the case publicly but has maintained his innocence. He was re-elected last year despite the looming investigation.

Jefferson, in Louisiana on Monday, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Two of Jefferson's associates have already 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, Kentucky, 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 in exchanges for their pleas.

The impact of the case has stretched across continents and even roiled presidential politics in Nigeria. According to court records, Jefferson told associates that 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. Abubakar ran for the presidency and finished third.

Court records indicate that Jefferson was videotape taking a $100,000 cash bribe from an FBI informant. Most of that money later turned up in a freezer in Jefferson's home.

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

The legality of the raid 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.

Link like always!!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/04/jefferson.probe.ap/index.html

 

[unregistered]

 

[WriterDom]

He's innocent until proven guilty. Like OJ.

Why do they call it cold hard cash anyway if you aren't supposed to keep 100k in the freezer?

 

[HoHoBomb]

http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060615/060615_williamJefferson_bcol.widec.jpg

 

[Le Jacquelope]

Not that Cade Is Here has the balls to answer my question, but...

Show where I have ever spoken highly of Congressman William Jefferson. Please. Take your time.

Here, I'll show you what I've said about Jefferson.

https://forum.literotica.com/showpost.php?p=17669107&postcount=2

Democrats, can we come clean about Rep. William Jefferson? Did he or did he not do something illegal here?

Note that even the Republicans are questioning the FBI's moves here... but why? If Jefferson really did something wrong, I feel he should be punished.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20...rLwrEX8B2YD;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

Jefferson's alleged misdeeds may strand Louisiana yet again

By DeWayne WickhamTue May 30, 6:44 AM ET

Days before the official start of this year's hurricane season, an ill wind hit New Orleans. Not another massive storm like the one that devastated the Big Easy nine months ago. This one was no act of Mother Nature. It was man-made.

And the man who made it, federal investigators contend, is Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record), the Democratic congressman whose New Orleans district was the epicenter of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina last year.

Jefferson, Louisiana's most prominent black politician, is the target of a federal criminal investigation. Though he has yet to be charged with a crime, the FBI said in an affidavit used to get a warrant to search his office that the eight-term congressman engaged in widespread criminal conduct. The 83-page document accuses Jefferson, among other things, of fraud and attempting to bribe a foreign official.

The G-men claim to have secretly tape recorded and videotaped some of Jefferson's alleged bad acts.

As a member of the House of Representatives' powerful Ways and Means Committee, Jefferson is well positioned to help the mostly black residents of his congressional district, many of whom have been forced out of their homes - and out of New Orleans - by Katrina's floodwaters. But if the FBI's accusations are true, Jefferson spent a lot of time before and after the hurricane struck New Orleans trying to feather his own nest.

The FBI's account

In the affidavit, the FBI recounts how Jefferson was recorded negotiating an increased share of the expected profits of a company he was helping to establish in Nigeria and Ghana.

While scribbling several figures on a piece of paper during a dinner meeting on May 12, 2005, with the woman who controlled the firm, whom the FBI identified only as a "cooperating witness," Jefferson allegedly revealed his criminal intent.

"I make a deal for my children. It wouldn't be me," Jefferson said as he pushed the woman to give a larger share of her Nigerian business venture to Global Energy & Environmental Services, LLC, a firm owned by his children and run by a son-in-law.

All of this convinced a federal judge to give the FBI a warrant to search Jefferson's Capitol Hill office, an extraordinary action that has enraged both congressional Democrats and Republicans. The search, they say, tramples upon the separation of powers doctrine.

Last week, President Bush ordered the Justice Department to seal the documents seized from Jefferson's office for 45 days to give federal lawyers and lawmakers a chance to avoid a constitutional crisis.

Silence, for now

Jefferson has refused to discuss the facts surrounding his case. "There will be an appropriate time and forum when that can be explained and explicated," he said last week at a news conference.

But that's not good enough.

Jefferson is accused of using his elected office for criminal purposes. The FBI said they have videotape of him accepting a $100,000 bribe last July. They said they later found $90,000 of that money hidden in the freezer of his Washington apartment.

Then in September, five days after Katrina hit, Jefferson had the Louisiana National Guard take him through the flooded streets of New Orleans so he could recover some items from his home, which the FBI had searched earlier. Whether this had anything to do with his criminal investigation is unclear.

But this much is certain: Jefferson owes the voters of his district an explanation. And he should speak up before they go to the polls in November to fill the congressional seat he holds. If he chooses to remain silent, then he should quit the race.

The people of Louisiana, especially those in his district, are still reeling from the lingering effects of Katrina. What they need now is a tireless champion. What they have instead is Jefferson, whose effectiveness has been severely damaged by bad judgment and, possibly, criminal conduct.

DeWayne Wickham writes weekly for USA TODAY.

 

[Cade Is Here]

Wrong answer...Please try again!!

 

[Cap’n AMatrixca]

Dropping this thread...






NOW!

 

[Cade Is Here]

Heres more:


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.



Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., makes a statement upon his arrival at Washington's National Airport in this May 22, 2006 file photo. Jefferson will be indicted in a bribery investigation involving business deals he tried to broker in Africa, The Associated Press has learned. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, Files) (Lauren Victoria Burke - AP)



Renaldo D. Taylor attends a service yesterday at Union Temple Baptist Church, the sponsor of Unifest, which saw its 25th celebration cut short Saturday when a woman identified as Tonya Bell, 30, of Oxon Hill drove through the crowd. (James M. Thresher -- The Washington Post)


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."



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/04/AR2007060400714.html

 

[RoryN]

*counts*

Yep - it's official. This is the

1000th

accusation Cade's made about another member without any proof.

 

[Cade Is Here]

*counts*

Yep - it's official. This is the

1000th

accusation Cade's made about another member without any proof.

TROLL ALERT!!

hey look my troll is here!!
We all proved what you are buddy!!