[Libloather]

The rise and potential fall of a Louisiana congressman
Friends see roots of Jefferson scandal in severe poverty of his youth
By Ann M. Simmons and Faye Fiore
Originally published June 3, 2006

NEW ORLEANS // Rep. William J. Jefferson was once famous in Louisiana circles as the sharecropper's son who made his way to Harvard, steered by parents who preached the value of education.

Today, Jefferson is known nationally as the Louisiana Democrat who stashed $90,000 of alleged bribe money in the kitchen freezer of his Washington home.

More -

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.jefferson03jun03,0,7719816.story?track=rss

[Paladin2]

Jeffie had caught the FBI red handed making payoffs with counterfeit money and needed to keep some as evidence.

[StJacques]

The Times-Picayune only wants access to that information so they can put pressure on Jefferson to step aside to get his scandal out of the public eye quickly. I hope they don't get access to the information myself. I'm quite content to wait out the 45 day period just to keep this story in the public eye.

[bcsco]

[HarleyLady27]

Can a Judge over rule the POTUS?????

[NonValueAdded]

On Friday, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge W. Eugene Davis agreed with the newspaper's position in regard to the materials supporting the local raids, saying that the public's right to know details of the case outweighs Jefferson's interests.

Aw, jeez, don't go and get me siding with William Jefferson, DemocRAT of Louisiana. I wish the phrase was "the public's right to know at the appropriate time." The openness of our court system is important and the press has a crucial role to play in that regard. However, the presumption of innocence is one of the cornerstones of our Constitutional rights and just because a supposed majority of us want to be titillated with the details before the trial takes place, it doesn't mean that a judge can decide that our individual rights are less important than "collective" rights. See where I'm going with that? Does the phrase "we're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good" ring a bell? If it was the prosecution objecting I would be a lot more troubled with keeping it secret before the trial. Further, I'd hate for this act of media voyeurism result in William Jefferson, democRAT of Louisiana, getting any kind of break when another judge decides that his rights WERE violated.

[fish hawk]

You mean Bill "The Refrigerator" Jefferson? Didn't he once play for the Chicago Bears?

[daybreakcoming]

A similar case is pending in a Maryland court regarding materials filed in support of a raid on the Nigerian vice president's house in Potomac.

The Nigerian VP has a HOME in DC area??? Why do you spose that is?

[TXnMA]

I thought I remembered some scandalous news about Jefferson diverting rescue assets so he could go to his NO house after Katrina to "retrieve personal items" from his flooded house.

Here's one article:

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Katrina: Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson Used National Guard to Retrieve Belongings

By James Joyner

Rep. William Jefferson commandered a National Guard detachment on September 2, during the height of the Katrina rescue operations, to go check on his own home and retrieve his belongings. Ultimately, several soldiers, a helicopter, and at least two large trucks were involved in the operation. [SNIP]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the time, I recall talk about him retrieving something (money?) from his freezer in NO. Does anyone have more on this episode?

[TXnMA]

Ah! Here's an (after the fact) article on Jefferson's NO hijacking of NG vehicles -- from FR:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1636250/posts

Does anyone have something on this from the Katrina rescue timeframe?

[Mike Darancette]

Wait till Jefferson is committed to run then release it.