Refresh my memory please. Isn't this the same upstanding gentleman that used rescue resources to try and pull personal belongings out of his house during the aftermath of Katrina?
That same day, Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson publicly tours the devastation with President Bush. And, while his constituents cling to life, the congressman quietly uses National Guard troops to check on his own home in a pricey part of New Orleans, so he can retrieve some personal belongings.
LT. COL. PETE SCHNEIDER, LOUISIANA NATIONAL GUARD: So, we provided the vehicles to give Congressman Jefferson a tour of his district, and, as part of that tour, he asked -- he asked to be taken to his residence.
GRIFFIN: Jefferson maintains he wanted an up-close look at the devastation in his district and only accepted the offer of an escort when National Guard officials urged it upon him for safety reasons.
With the help of a five-ton military truck and several military police officers, Jefferson visited his home, where floodwaters had reached the porch. Jefferson says his wife had urged him to retrieve personal items.
SCHNEIDER: We pulled into the residence. He departed the vehicle and went into his house and proceeded to take some things out.
GRIFFIN: The congressman acknowledges he emerged with a laptop, a large box, and at least two suitcases, after leaving the soldiers outside for nearly an hour. The soldiers waited so long, their truck got mired in the water. So, they sought help.
SCHNEIDER: The soldiers in the truck, in the first truck, noticed a Coast Guard helicopter coming by, and they flagged them down. The diver, essentially the rescuer, rappelled out of the helicopter onto the residence.
Yep. Tied up two NG trucks and delayed a helicopter transporting injured patients in order to remove incriminating evidence from his house (most likely;he was under investigation before Katrina hit)