Amid Katrina Chaos, Congressman Used National Guard to Visit Home

ABC News ^ | 9/13/05 | JAKE TAPPER

[frankjr]

Sept. 13, 3005 — Amid the chaos and confusion that engulfed New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck, a local congressman used National Guard troops to check on his property and rescue his personal belongings — even while New Orleans residents were trying to get rescued from rooftops, ABC News has learned.

On Friday, Sept. 2 — five days after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast — Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., who represents New Orleans and is a senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, was allowed through the military blockades set up around the city to reach the Superdome, where thousands of evacuees had been taken.

Military sources tells ABC News that Jefferson, an eight-term Democratic congressman, asked the National Guard that night to take him on a tour of the flooded portions of his congressional district. A 5-ton military truck and a half dozen military police were dispatched.

Lt. Col. Pete Schneider of the Louisiana National Guard tells ABC News that during the tour, Jefferson asked that the truck take him to his home on Marengo Street, in the affluent uptown neighborhood in his congressional district. According to Schneider, this was not part of Jefferson's initial request.

...

The water reached to the third step of Jefferson's house, a military source familiar with the incident told ABC News, and the vehicle pulled up onto Jefferson's front lawn so he wouldn't have to walk in the water. Jefferson went into the house alone, the source says, while the soldiers waited on the porch for about an hour.

[I Drive Too Fast]

Hmmm, First he will apologize, then he will resign, right?

[Jeff Gordon]

Can we give Louisana back to the French?

[auboy]

IOW, like William Jefferson Clinton, he will be awarded The Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dems Above The Law Club.

We can always hope some fellow "gang" members have Ratted him out.

[windcliff]

He has to do an apology tour first.

[bluerose]

Can you imagine if this was Trent Lott? The dems are still sneering over what the President said about Trent's house.

[Phantom Lord]

I wonder why they DUmmies haven't posted this article?

[danamco]

Those LA Dems are really concerned about savings lives. Or maybe just their favorite blanky.


Just heard from Rush Limbaugh that the congressman is under investigation by FBI, so do we have another NOLA version of the "Sandy Burglar" operation???

[NeoCaveman]

Cuz he's a Democrat.

And obviously one who doesn't care about black people (/irony)

[steve-b]

In an unrelated matter, authorities recently searched Jefferson's property as part of a federal investigation into the finances of a high-tech firm.

A light dawns -- he was probably desperate to get to the place before the Feds did....

[Born Conservative]

[TaxRelief]

Isn't it his responsibility to tour his district?

[Prime Choice]

Isn't it his responsibility to tour his district?

It is...but it's not his right to use the National Guard to retrieve his personal belongings while his constituents are on the roofs of their flooded homes.

[TaxRelief]

I've read the whole article now. When the truck got stuck Jefferson refused to separate himself from that box when they attempted to rescue him by helicopter. He forced them to send a second truck so he would not have to let the stuff out of his sight. Apparently he was not willing to be rescued, even though they spent 45 minutes trying to convince him to board the helicopter.

SOMETHING WAS IN THE BOX.

One of the last paragraphs tells it all:

In an unrelated matter, authorities recently searched Jefferson's property as part of a federal investigation into the finances of a high-tech firm. Last month FBI officials raided Jefferson's house as well as his home in Washington, D.C., his car and his accountant's house.

[Itzlzha]

Mayor Nagin has a message for all the "voters" that he needs back home...(click the pic, needs sound up)

And this one best describes the state of things in New Orleans with Nagin's "fleet" (again, click the pic with sound)

[potlatch]

LOL, thanks!

[ConservativeMan55]

bttt

[potlatch]

Reviving the old hurricane thread!! I wondered why one of my pictures was red Xed!