Posted on 09/14/2005 11:50:16 PM PDT by OfficialWire
NEW ORLEANS, LA -- (OfficialWire) -- 09/15/05 -- On September 2—five days after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast — Congressman William Jefferson (shown here), who represents New Orleans and is a senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, asked the National Guard that night to take him on a tour of the flooded portions of his congressional district. A five-ton military truck and a half dozen military police were dispatched.
According to Lt. Col. Pete Schneider of the Louisiana National Guard, during the tour, Jefferson asked that the truck take him to his home on Marengo Street. According to Schneider, this was not part of Jefferson's initial request.
While many of Jefferson's constituents and fellow-citizens were dying, the water unfortunately reached to the third step of the Congressman's house and so the vehicle pulled up onto the front lawn of his home so he wouldn't have to walk in the water. The eight-term Democratic congressman then went into the house alone, while the soldiers waited on the porch for about an hour.
According to an ABC News report, Jefferson emerged with a laptop computer, three suitcases, and a box about the size of a small refrigerator, which the enlisted men loaded up into the truck.
Jefferson must resign immediately. There is simply no excuse for any elected official to have used public resources (intended to save lives), to retrieve personal possessions, while people he is supposed to represent suffered and died.
William Jefferson ___________ should have resigned.
Don't hold your breath, Jen.
It won't happen.
The box the size of a small refrigerator is probably his "campaign chest" (in bundled hundreds). The small briefcase is probably the polaroids and videotapes of any potential rivals.
Louisiana is a very, very, very corrupt state and the good Congressman will probably be incumbent forever.
He couldn't get beaten if he were found in bed with a farm animal.
The feds had just recently searched his house for evidence.
Could be he needed to get evidence into a safer place.
A demorat resign in this day and age? Never happen.
Ditto
Naught is on to something.
Jefferson's house was raided by the FBI out of Virgina. NOT LA. Inside the home, they seized 100K dollars in cold hard cash. Cold hard because it was in the fridge. His wife created a shell company that does import/exports to Africa. They have some very questionable contracts that were won. That is what has the FBI looking after him.
Several years ago, Jefferson was in a very popular resturant in New Orleans, Commanders Palace (safe from Katrina) he was having lunch with an individual. At the end of the lunchon, they shook hands and left. As the caption picked up the check, he noticed an envelope on the chair. No kidding, about 15k dollars was in the env. William came back to the resturant within 20 minutes and requested his package. True Story.
I respectively disagree! He's a Democrat, therefore it's okay to be totally indifferent to the suffering of his constituency.
Resignations are (IMO) mostly done out of shame or for the protection of family or others.
Seeing as today's DemocRATS have no shame and seem to care less about family or others it probably aint gonna happen.
The Louisiana National Guard tells ABC News the truck became stuck as it waited for Jefferson to retrieve his belongings.
Two weeks later, the vehicle's tire tracks were still visible on the lawn.
The soldiers signaled to helicopters in the air for aid. Military sources say a Coast Guard helicopter pilot saw the signal and flew to Jefferson's home. The chopper was already carrying four rescued New Orleans residents at the time.
A rescue diver descended from the helicopter, but the congressman decided against going up in the helicopter, sources say. The pilot sent the diver down again, but Jefferson again declined to go up the helicopter.
After spending approximately 45 minutes with Jefferson, the helicopter went on to rescue three additional New Orleans residents before it ran low on fuel and was forced to end its mission.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1123495&page=2
That's what they said about Edwin Edwards and he's spending time in federal prison right now.
You should really have your reporters do a better job of fact checking.
It most assuredly was NOT five days after Hurricane Katrina.
I'm sure this corrupt hack removed some evidence
You must not live anywhere near Long Island. According to your def there are a lot of white pols don't know they're black.
Golly, I hope you're right! But I also hope the Saints win the Superbowl.
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