Congressman Jefferson Scandal

[WRESTLINGFAN]

<p>Why is there a brushback from congress over this? He was caught on videotape taking a bribe and 90,000 in cash was found in his freezer. A warrant was issued for this so why is there an uproar?</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20060530/cm_usatoday/jeffersonsallegedmisdeedsmaystrandlouisianayetagai n">http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20060530/cm_usatoday/jeffersonsallegedmisdeedsmaystrandlouisianayetagai n</a></p>

[Plethora]

<p>If you are actually curious about the source of the uproar, have a look at this:</p><p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/30/AR2006053001236.html">wash post article</a></p><p>About half-way through the constitutional issue at hand is briefly explained. It's interesting. I'm surprised that it has never come up before.</p><p>Depending on one's point of view, this is a tasty quote:</p><p>&nbsp;</p>Noting that Gonzales, Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Paul J.
McNulty signaled that they would resign if they were forced to return
the Jefferson documents, Fein said: &quot;Well, let them resign. I am
astonished that the president would not have fired them for undertaking
this action without consulting him in advance.&quot; <p>&nbsp;</p>

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by Plethora on 5-31-06 @ 1:05 AM</span>

[IamFogHat]

Wait, I thought he was innocent because he was black...

[Ndugu]

it would seem this privilege of speech or debate clause was set in place to prevent a monarchy from using criminal investigations against legislators to influence their decisions, is this&nbsp;a &quot;get out of jail free card&quot; for this guy?

[sailor]

<p><font size="3">Jefferson's going down, and going down hard. He (and congress) have no leg to stand on.</font></p><p> </p><p><strong>http://www.slate.com/id/2142462/</strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>sorry, don't know why that link's not clickable...i'm new here.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><strong><font size="3">

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<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by madrigalq on 5-31-06 @ 6:48 AM</span>

[Plethora]

<strong>madrigalq</strong> wrote:<br /><p><font size="3">Jefferson's going down, and going down hard. He (and congress) have no leg to stand on.</font></p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2142462/" target="_blank"><strong>http://www.slate.com/id/2142462/</strong></a></p><p> </p><p>sorry, don't know why that link's not clickable...i'm new here. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><strong><font size="3">

</font></strong>

<span class="post_edited">This message was edited by madrigalq on 5-31-06 @ 6:48 AM</span><p>&nbsp;</p>Made the link clickable (the link editor is the 7th button from the left on the 2nd line of the posting tools)<br />

[Furtherman]

I want to see the size of that freezer!

[Plethora]

The Slate article is interesting (just had time to skim it so far) -- seems like the issue that would be of interest here is the &quot;Speech and Debate&quot; phrase.&nbsp; I see the author's point, but it does seem like an interesting dilemma.&nbsp; If the search &amp; seizure is allowed to stand, the precedent does seem troubling -- the executive branch having the power to rifle through working papers of the legislative branch.&nbsp; Something the executive branch fights at every turn for its own papers....<br />

[EliSnow]

<strong>Plethora</strong> wrote:<br />If the search &amp; seizure is allowed to stand, the precedent does seem troubling -- the executive branch having the power to rifle through working papers of the legislative branch.&nbsp; Something the executive branch fights at every turn for its own papers....<br /><p><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">My knowledge of the law on this issue isn't that detailed, but on a gut level, I'm not troubled because the executive branch wasn't given such power.&nbsp; In order to do the search, a warrant was obtained and thus, the judicial branch had to determine that there was sufficient evidence to support a warrant to search.&nbsp; Thus, two branches of the federal government worked together to check the legislative branch.&nbsp; </font></p><p><font face="Arial" size="3">If the FBI went into some legislator's office without a warrant and without any indication that the legislator was guilty of some crime, I'd be more troubled.&nbsp; But that's not what happened here.</font></p>

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by EliSnow on 5-31-06 @ 12:21 PM</span>

[Plethora]

But it took 230 years for this to come up?&nbsp; Curious, no?

[EliSnow]

<strong>Plethora</strong> wrote:<br />But it took 230 years for this to come up?&nbsp; Curious, no? <p><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Well, this is the first time that a U.S. congressman was engaging in criminal .....</font></p><p><font face="Arial" size="3">Sorry, I couldn't get&nbsp;that sentence&nbsp;out.&nbsp; Just too ridiculous.</font></p>

[badmonkey]

Louisiana congressman indicted in bribery probe (http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/04/jefferson.probe.ap/)

• Indictment reportedly lists 16 alleged violations against Rep. William Jefferson
• Investigators found $90,000 stuffed in Jefferson's freezer in 2005 raid
• Congressman has said little about case but maintains innocence
• Two of Jefferson's associates have struck plea bargains

U.S. 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 Monday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, 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.

They're still contesting the legality of the office raid. Bah! I'm starting to think they should conduct random office raids like high schools do random locker searches. No congressmen or senators should be allowed to use their offices to hide their criminal activities and maintain their "above the law" status. Hide that shit in the real world and risk getting caught like everybody else.

Badmonkey

[TheMojoPin]

Mmmmmm, cold, hard, cash.

[FUNKMAN]

i heard his favorite ice cream was cookie dough