Finally, Bill Jefferson has to face the music. If convicted of all charges, he may spend the rest of his life in prison.

From the indictment itself:

Consistent with his oath of office and the duties of the office he held, Defendent JEFFERSON owed the citizens of the United States and the United States House of Representatives a duty to perform the responsibilities of his office free from deceit, fraud, concealment, bias, conflict of interest, self-enrichment, and self-dealing.

I couldn’t have said this better myself. I wish I could take comfort as did the 30% of voting New Orleans residents who re-elected this charlatan in the fantasy that this is a setup of a man working hard for his Katrina-beleaguered constituents by a hostile Bush Administration intent on silencing a savage critic.

Ha. CNN has the best bulleted summary that says it all:

• William Jefferson faces 16 charges of bribery, obstruction, racketeering
• Louisiana Democrat’s schemes reached across Atlantic, prosecutors say
• Investigators found $90,000 in Jefferson’s home freezer
• Search of Capitol Hill office prompted constitutional questions

Now watch as the CBC leaps to his defense as they have in the past. After all, these are folks, many of whom, contributed to his most recent campaign and protested Speaker Pelosi’s removal of Dollar Bill from the powerful Ways and Means Committee. (Read my past coverage for more info) Shame on them if they do so. Shame on all of us. I hope you agree and will speak out that African-Americans do not support this behavior. The Republicans are already seeking a tit-for-tat to brand Democrats (and African-American legislators) with the same brush of corruption they currently wear.

From the Politico:

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) moved quickly to force the expulsion of Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) from Congress following his indictment Monday on federal corruption charges.

The Republican leader will ask members of the House to vote on a resolution requiring the ethics committee to review the indictment filed against him in order to seek his expulsion from the House, according to his office.

Democrats and African-American leaders would be wise to isolate Jefferson while advocating for new Congressional leadership that will truly represent New Orleans’ post-Katrina recovery. Someone waits in the wings — Karen Carter.

I like Down with Tyranny’s analysis:

UPDATE: “THE CHARGES WILL NOT IMPACT HIS ABILITY TO SERVE IN CONGRESS WHILE AWAITING TRIAL”

That was from the Times-Picayune story explaing that their town’s congresscritter had just been indicted on 16 counts of racketeering, soliciting bribes, fraud, money-laundering, obstructing justice…” Maybe Speaker Pelosi should take some steps to impact that ability.

Ditto for the CBC.

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