Rep. William Jefferson to Keep Key Post Despite Federal Investigation

One reason Republicans were tossed out of power on Capitol Hill in the 2006 elections, of course, was their willingness to countenance corruption in their own ranks.  (See Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham, and Bob Ney, to name a few.)  It appears the Democrats, however, have failed to learn any lessons from Republican mistakes. This according to Roll Call:  “House Democratic leaders are not expected to pressure embattled Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) to forfeit his lone remaining committee assignment, even as two Republican lawmakers who similarly face intense FBI scrutiny have relinquished their posts in recent days.”

Rep. William Jefferson to Keep Key Post Despite Federal Investigation

Jefferson is alleged to have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to help broker high-tech business deals in Nigeria.  The evidence against Jefferson, by most accounts, is very compelling.  According to press reports, he was caught on tape discussing the deals, while an FBI search of his home uncovered $90,000 in cash stuffed in his freezer.  The FBI later searched Jefferson’s office in the Rayburn House Office Building for documents pertaining to the alleged bribery deals.

And Jefferson is being protected by the leadership of both parties as House lawyers argue that the search of his office was unconstitutional.  You may recall Judicial Watch recently filed an amicus brief with a federal appeals court in support of the search. I find it difficult to believe that Jefferson has a reasonable explanation as to why he had $90,000 in cash jammed in his freezer.  If he had any shame, he’d resign, in the least, from his committee post.  If he fails to do so, Democrats and Republicans should break their conspiracy of silence about him and hold him to account.  The last thing this country needs is more corrupt members of Congress in leadership positions on the Hill.

New leadership.  The same old story.

Tom Fitton is president of Judicial Watch, Inc., a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation that promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law.