Webloggin » Rep. William Jefferson, Traitor

Rep. William Jefferson is an elected official charged with representing the needs of American voters. What he was doing is lining his own pockets, the pockets of his congressional staff and the pockets of his children. Now he is charged with “racketeering, soliciting bribes and money-laundering in a long-running bribery investigation into business deals he tried to broker in Africa.” The 94 page long indictment lists 16 alleged violations of federal law that could keep Jefferson in prison for up to 235 years. (LATimes) Oh yes, he’s a Democrat.

Among the charges listed in the indictment, said the official, are racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money-laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. [snip]

Jefferson is accused of soliciting bribes for himself and his family, and also for bribing a Nigerian official.

Jefferson, 63, whose Louisiana district includes New Orleans, has said little about the case… [snip]

Two of Jefferson’s associates have already struck plea bargains with prosecutors and have been sentenced.

Brett Pfeffer, a former congressional aide, admitted soliciting bribes on Jefferson’s behalf and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Another Jefferson associate, Louisville, Ky., telecommunications executive Vernon Jackson, pleaded guilty to paying between $400,000 and $1 million in bribes to Jefferson in exchange for his assistance securing business deals in Nigeria and other African nations. Jackson was sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

Both Pfeffer and Jackson agreed to cooperate in the case against Jefferson in exchanges for their pleas.

Can we add traitor to the charges?

NYT:

Investigators maintain that Mr. Jefferson prodded the Pentagon to test iGate products, lobbied politicians in several African countries to include the company in telecommunications projects, and repeatedly urged the Export-Import Bank of the United States to finance the deals.

ABC:

The impact of the case has stretched across continents and even roiled presidential politics in Nigeria. According to court records, Jefferson told associates that he needed cash to pay bribes to the country’s vice president, Atiku Abubakar.

Keep in mind that Nigeria has terrorist connections, al-Qaeda connections. Also ethnic cleansing, or “Islamization” has already taken over much of Nigeria … and “more than 10,000 have died in religious violence since Sharia law was first introduced in 1999.” It was the leaders of this country, Nigeria, that Jefferson was making deals with. Traitor!

[Discuss this article with Debbie Hamilton over at the Right Truth...]