Democratic Bribery Louisiana Democratic Congressman Implicated in Bribery Case
Will The Democratic Bribery Case Result In A Charge?
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Democratic Bribery November 15, 2008
RealClearPolitics
Politics Nation Blog
By Reid Wilson
November 12, 2008
Jefferson Headed To Trial
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld a grand jury's indictment of Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson on 16 counts of corruption, allowing the trial to begin in early 2009 unless Jefferson appeals the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
It's been more than three years -- August 2005 -- since the FBI taped the Democratic congressman accepting a briefcase filled with $100,000 in marked bills and four days later found $90,000 of it in his Capitol Hill home freezer. He was indicted in June 2007 for the alleged bribery scheme.
Despite his trouble, Jefferson was re-elected in his solidly-Democratic 2nd Congressional District by a 14-point margin in a December 2006 nonpartisan runoff against State Rep. Karen Carter, a Democrat. He's likely to be re-elected once again in the Dec. 6 general election after winning last week's Democratic primary by the same margin.
-- Kyle Trygstad
Indicted Congressman Makes Runoff
Published: October 5, 2008
From New York Times:
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"NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Representative William J. Jefferson overcame the stigma of a federal bribery indictment in Louisiana’s Democratic primary on Saturday, garnering enough votes in his Congressional district to secure a spot in a Nov. 4 runoff.
Mr. Jefferson, seeking his 10th term in Congress, faces a trial in December on charges that he took bribes, laundered money and misused his Congressional office for business dealings in Africa. He has denied wrongdoing and refused to discuss details of the accusations against him."...
Democratic Bribery
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 12, 2006
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 11 (AP) - A Louisiana congressman demanded bribes in exchange for his help in promoting a pair of business deals in Africa, according to court documents filed Wednesday with a guilty plea by a former aide.
The aide, Brett Pfeffer, 37, a former legislative director to Representative William J. Jefferson, Democrat of Louisiana, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting bribery of a public official and conspiracy. Mr. Pfeffer could get 20 years in prison when he is sentenced March 31.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Jefferson declined to comment."...
If you took all the fraud out of politics, there might not be a lot left.
The reason so many people misunderstand so many issues is not that these issues are so complex, but that people do not want a factual or analytical explanation that leaves them emotionally unsatisfied. They want villains to hate and heroes to cheer-- and they don't want explanations that do not give them that.
Has anyone noticed Yankee pitcher Joba Chamberlain's facial resemblance to Babe Ruth? If he can be anywhere near as good a pitcher as Ruth was, he will have a great career. The Babe could have made the Hall of Fame if he had remained a pitcher and never hit a home run. He still holds a couple of pitching records.
July 18, 2008
This is not bribery but it sure doesn't look good and it's still typical misuse of power by so many in Washington
WASHINGTON POST
July 17, 2008
Rep. Rangel's Tin Cup
Soliciting donations for a center in his name doesn't pass the smell test.
IN THE corridors of money and power in New York City, Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) is called simply "Mr. Chairman." Everyone knows that he's chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. With his sway over tax and trade policy, captains of industry around the country are eager to have his ear. So when a letter from Mr. Rangel, especially if it's on his congressional stationary, arrives, the 19-term Harlem congressman receives close attention.
As Post staff writer Christopher Lee reported Tuesday, Mr. Rangel has been requesting meetings with business and philanthropic leaders since 2005 to discuss the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York. It's a $30 million facility Mr. Rangel says is dedicated to ensuring that the next generation of public servants reflects America's diversity and "will allow me to locate the inspirational aspects of my legacy in my home Harlem community." So far, $12.2 million has been raised. That includes a $1.9 million earmark, $690,500 in grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, $100,000 from the New York City Council, $7.1 million from foundations and $2.3 million from individuals. The largest single gift ($5 million) came from the C.V. Starr Foundation, which is chaired by Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg, a former head of insurance and financial services giant AIG. Mr. Rangel and college officials had a separate meeting with AIG this year, and another gift is under consideration.
Senators Dodd and Conrad are among the government officials who scored V.I.P. loans from C.E.O. Angelo Mozilo. An exclusive Portfolio investigation.
Two U.S. senators, two former Cabinet members, and a former ambassador to the United Nations received loans from Countrywide Financial through a little-known program that waived points, lender fees, and company borrowing rules for prominent people.
Senators Christopher Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut and chairman of the Banking Committee, and Kent Conrad, Democrat from North Dakota, chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, refinanced properties through Countrywide’s “V.I.P.” program in 2003 and 2004, according to company documents and emails and a former employee familiar with the loans.
Other participants in the V.I.P. program included former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and former U.N. ambassador and assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke. Jackson was deputy H.U.D. secretary in the Bush administration when he received the loans in 2003. Shalala, who received two loans in 2002, had by then left the Clinton administration for her current position as president of the University of Miami. She is scheduled to receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom on June 19.
The luster may be beginning to come off Al Franken’s Senate campaign in Minnesota.
The comedian-turned-Democratic politician announced on Tuesday that he will be paying $70,000 in back taxes and penalties in 17 states after several weeks in which the campaign downplayed the amount of money that his company owed and changed the reasons for why the taxes (and workers' compensation insurance) had not been paid. During this period of time, Franken has also been avoiding publicly commenting about the controversy, instead relying on his surrogates to offer explanations.
Initially, it appeared that the back taxes were limited to one state (California) and as a result of a minor clerical error. Now, with Franken’s decision to pay back taxes in 17 states, it appears it is more widespread.
April 11, 2008
Nancy Pelosi Gives In To Her Masters Again
Union Intimidation Forces Pelosi To Change Rules So Her Own Party Can't Vote For Free Trade
After 16 months of fruitless negotiations with Democrats in Congress, President Bush sent the U.S.-Colombia Free-Trade Agreement to Capitol Hill this week. Under existing rules, lawmakers have 90 days to vote on the legislation. But Nancy Pelosi intends to hold a vote today that would change the rules, allowing Democrats to quietly kill the bill.
Such a maneuver would signal that protectionism has made a comeback in Washington, meaning fewer opportunities for American businesses and higher prices for American consumers. Rejecting the deal would also undercut a valuable ally in a region where the U.S. needs all the friends it can get.
U.S. markets already are wide open to Colombian goods. The U.S. long ago removed barriers to Colombian exports, products that range from coffee to essential industrial materials such as nickel, copper, coal, and oil. More than 90 percent of Colombian goods already enter the U.S. duty-free under the terms of the Andean Trade Preferences Act, which Congress reauthorized with overwhelming support less than two months ago.
Democratic Bribery December 9, 2007
From Capital Research Center (CRC)
FEDS: Jefferson Used Foundation For Bribery Scheme
Federal prosecutors say embattled Representative William Jefferson (D-Louisiana) used his position as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in a bribery scheme, The Hill newspaper reports:
Prosecutors allege Jefferson wrote to a NASA administrator on Congressional Black Caucus Foundation letterhead to ask that it consider doing business with a U.S. rocket technology company.
In a seven-page document filed last week in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, prosecutors said Jefferson recommended that NASA give “close consideration” to the company, which allegedly agreed to pay a Jefferson family business a commission on sales and transactions in West Africa and Central Africa relating to satellite ventures.
William Jefferson Scandal Taints Entire Democratic Party
Democratic Bribery November 21, 2007
Political Donor To Democrats Gives Up to Face Charges
A major contributor to Democratic candidates faces charges that he impersonated a lawyer and a police officer.
Mauricio Celis was released after posting $50,000 bail.
Celis has contributed thousands of dollars to the presidential campaign of Sen. Hilary Clinton and others.
Celis, 36, was indicted Friday November 16, 2007 on charges of impersonating a lawyer, impersonating a police officer, theft and perjury.
Democratic Bribery Friday, June 8, 2007
There is perhaps no better example of the fraudulent nature of the Democrats ethical posturing than that of Rep. William Jefferson, who after more than two years of being the target of a federal investigation was finally indicted on Monday.
The 16-count indictment includes charges of racketeering, soliciting bribes, money laundering, obstruction of justice, corruption, and conspiracy.
The scandal should have major repercussions for the entire Democratic Party, which largely ignored scandal during the 2006 campaign, then afterwards rewarded and protected Jefferson up to the day he was indicted.
The charges against Jefferson are far worse than any allegations made against Tom DeLay, as well as the crimes committed by Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-CA) and Bob Ney (R-OH) combined.
If convicted on all 16 charges, Jefferson faces over 200 years in prison. During the 2006 campaign, Nancy Pelosi was quick to say that even a hint of GOP scandal was evidence of widespread corruption in the entire Republican Party.
However, in the case of Jefferson, not only could Nancy Pelosi not be made to act in the interests of the American people, but she couldn’t even find any words of condemnation for Jefferson.
Democrats would like everyone to believe that the Jefferson scandal as an isolated incident involving one member of their party who had gone wrong.
While Jefferson’s illegal actions are his own doing, the fact that Democrats routinely turn a blind eye to their own scandals enabled Jefferson to commit his crimes over a very long period of time. While the FBI found a $90,000.00 bribe in Jefferson’s freezer in August of 2005, it took an Associated Press report on the existence of videotaped evidence of Jefferson accepting a bribe to force Democrats to act.
Democrats finally stripped Jefferson of his committee assignment in June of 2006. As more and more details of the Jefferson scandal came to light, Democratic eyes were ever more tightly shut against reality – and a Democrat-friendly Main Stream Media (MSM) ensured that the American people would only hear of Republican scandals in 2006.
With Democrats making ethics the centerpiece of their campaign, the political environment in 2006 should have made it impossible for any embattled Congressman to get reelected.
However, while many tainted Republicans were defeated in November, Jefferson (and other embattled Democrats) were reelected.
And to top it off, Jefferson was given a standing ovation by the House Democratic Caucus on his return to Congress in January.
With the election over, Speaker Pelosi, adding insult to injury, picked Jefferson to sit on the sensitive House Homeland Security Committee.
Strangely, the appointment received unanimous approval from the House Democratic Caucus. It took pressure from House Republicans to prevent Jefferson‘s placement on the highly sensitive committee.
In spite of this mounting evidence against Jefferson and her promise to the American people to lead the most open, honest and ethical Congress in history Nancy Pelosi chose to protect Jefferson by effectively shutting down an ongoing ethics investigation into the scandal by refusing to appoint ten Democrats to serve on the 20-member bipartisan ethics “pool.”
By “coincidence”, she finally made the appointments... the day after Jefferson’s indictment. House Republican Leader John Boehner had 10 Republicans selected in January.
The Democrats actions (or lack thereof) prior to Jefferson’s indictment speak for themselves.
But, now that Jefferson has been indicted, what will the open, honest and ethical Democrats do with the thousands of dollars in contributions they received from William Jefferson?
Following Tom DeLay’s indictment, the DCCC, then chaired by Rep. Rahm Emanuel, launched a campaign to pressure House Republicans to return contributions linked to Tom DeLay and his political action committee.
Earlier this week, the Majority Accountability Project (majorityap.com) reported, “Jefferson donated nearly $140,000 to the Democrats’ campaign committee.
Jefferson also gave thousands to Democrat House members and candidates,” and his political action committee made several $1,000 donations to several House Democrats.
Will Emanuel, now chairman of the Democratic Caucus, or Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the new DCCC Chairman, practice what they preached and lead the way in making sure that everyone who received Jefferson’s tainted contributions return them or donate the money to charity?
Considering their longstanding hypocrisy on ethics and corruption, there is no reason to believe Democrats will hold themselves to the same standard they held Republicans.
A jury will ultimately determine Jefferson’s fate, but the Party of Nancy Pelosi and William Jefferson must take a long, hard look at itself.
While we will never get to a point where there is no corruption in politics, we should at least hold all politicians to the same high standard, and demand that they all pay a high price for when they violate the public’s trust.
Let’s hope the indictment of William Jefferson marks a new era which will see Democrats finally being held accountable, and holding themselves accountable, for corruption. This is something they have managed avoid for a long time but it is never too late to start doing the right thing for the American people
Democratic Bribery June 8, 2007
Democratic Bribery Case
Grand Jury Hands Down 16 Count Indictment of Democratic Congressman
SEE ALSO SANDY BERGER VIDEO SHEDDING DOCUMENTS
BERGER STILL HASN'T TAKEN PROMISED LIE DETECTOR TEST
BELOW
Democratic Bribery Congressman Implicated in Case
Although Democrats and Republicans often accuse each other of hypocrisy, Democrats win the hypocrisy battle hands down.
It is truly a no contest. The flap over congressmen Mark Foley has borne this out.
The Democratic Bribery case has still not moved forward almost 2 years later.
Although Republicans can site both numerous and blatant examples during the last 20 years and how each party handles it, let’s simply look at a current situation.
William Jefferson (D), was found by the FBI to have $90,000 stashed in a freezer while waiting trial for bribing a businessman. See original implication below.
Democrats asked Jefferson to resign a committee seat. He refused.
Jefferson not only did not resign from the House of Representatives, he did not resign from his seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
Democrats are presently howling for the the Speaker of the House to resign, though we know of no wrong doing at this point, but leaving Mr. Jefferson right where he is is fine with Democrats.
Possible Democratic Bribery doesn't seem to mean much to Nancy Pelosi and gang.
Democratic Bribery
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 12, 2006
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 11 (AP) - A Louisiana congressman demanded bribes in exchange for his help in promoting a pair of business deals in Africa, according to court documents filed Wednesday with a guilty plea by a former aide.
The aide, Brett Pfeffer, 37, a former legislative director to Representative William J. Jefferson, Democrat of Louisiana, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting bribery of a public official and conspiracy. Mr. Pfeffer could get 20 years in prison when he is sentenced March 31.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Jefferson declined to comment.
Mr. Pfeffer said in federal court here that a congressman had demanded bribes in exchange for his assistance in brokering two African telecommunications deals.
Court documents did not identify the congressman by name, but the documents make clear that Mr. Jefferson is the congressman.
According to the documents, Mr. Pfeffer was employed as a legislative assistant by the congressman from 1995 through 1997. That is when Mr. Pfeffer served as a legislative aide to Mr. Jefferson.
Mr. Pfeffer agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and testify if needed.
The conspiracy took place in 2004 and 2005, years after Mr. Pfeffer had left Mr. Jefferson's office, according to the authorities.
Mr. Pfeffer said in court that a congressman had solicited his assistance in promoting business opportunities in Nigeria and Ghana. The congressman demanded 5 percent to 7 percent of the newly formed African companies in exchange for his help promoting the deal, Mr. Pfeffer said.
Mr. Pfeffer's lawyer, Paul Knight, declined to comment.
Court records give no indication how much money Mr. Jefferson stood to receive, in this case involving possible bribery.
The F.B.I. raided Mr. Jefferson's home in August.
Mr. Jefferson was elected to the House in 1990, becoming the first black congressman from Louisiana since Reconstruction.
Mr. Jefferson's Democratic-Bribery implication is still pending.
Duke Cunningham has been sentenced.
Recently former House member Randy “Duke” Cunningham, Republican, began his first day in prison on March 3, 2006 after being sentenced to eight years and four months for taking $2.4 million in homes, yachts and other bribes.
All Democratic scandals do not have to do with Democratic Bribery.
