Louisiana Democrat William Jefferson Indicted

[razorsharp]

<p>

Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) passionately proclaimed his innocence Friday after pleading not guilty to soliciting $500,000 in bribes from businessmen with interests in Africa, as well as to racketeering, obstruction of justice and money-laundering charges.</p>

<p>With his wife, Andrea Green Jefferson, at his side, Jefferson told a scrum of reporters gathered outside the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., that he would “fight his heart out” to clear his name.

</p>

<p>Apparently the $90,000 found in his freezer was from the FBI. </p>

<p>

Jefferson also said the now-notorious $90,000 the FBI found in his freezer during a raid of his home did not amount to evidence of a bribe because he never gave it to the Nigerian vice president, for whom the FBI alleges it was intended.</p>

<p>“The $90,000 was the FBI’s money,” he said. “The FBI gave it to me as part of their plan that I would give it to the Nigerian vice president. But I did not do that. When all the facts are understood, I trust I will be vindicated.”

</p>

<p>I would like for the FBI to put $90,000 in my freezer.</p>

[conyat]

<p>NOLA.com had a nice headline: Judge freezes Jefferson’s assets. </p>

<p>Isn’t that what caused all the trouble in the first place?</p>

[simba]

<p>conyat: is he your congressman?</p>

[conyat]

<p>I’ve lived in the district most of my life. I don’t now, but will be moving back mid-summer. How Jefferson got re-elected despite the skeletons in his freezer was a bizarre bit of local politics. </p>

<p>We have open primaries and a run-off between the top two candidates. Two Democrats (both African Americans) made the run-off, Jefferson the incumbent and the challenger, a local state representative (female) who had been highly critical of Sheriff Harry Lee for actions many perceived as racist after Hurricane Katrina. </p>

<p>Sheriff Lee is a wildly popular figure. He’s been surrounded by this kind of controversy before and the people in his jurisdiction (Jefferson Parish, ironically enough) have always supported him.</p>

<p>According to NPR, Sheriff Lee has the highest approval ratings of any politician in the state and was the only politician who retained strong support even after the hurricane. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6549329[/url]”>Larger-Than-Life Sheriff Rules Louisiana Parish : NPR; </p>

<p>Kingmaker is probably not too strong a word for Harry Lee, at least within Jefferson Parish, a largely white suburban area that’s a big swath of the 2nd Congressional District. </p>

<p>Harry Lee does not take kindly to any criticism whatsoever. And he’s had plenty of practice addressing it. He didn’t come right out and endorse Jefferson, but he issued a statement saying he had “utter contempt” for the challenger. </p>

<p>Voter turnout was really low (17% in New Orleans) and Jefferson got 70% of the white suburban vote, the folks who are Lee’s strongest supporters.</p>

<p>Another interesting factor was the guy (also a Democrat) who came in third in the primary. Denied a shot at the run-off, he threw his support behind Jefferson. The cynics opine that he wanted Jefferson elected in the belief that Jefferson would be removed before the end of the term, giving the also-ran another shot in a special election.</p>