Methinks it has something to do with Hastert accepting $100k in donations from Jack Abramoff's Indian tribal clients, and subsequently writing Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton, urging her to reject a request for a new casino from the Jena tribe of Choctaw Indians, ostensibly because he was against the proliferation of Indian casinos. Nothing anywhere near as blatantly illegal as what Rep. Jefferson is alleged to have done, but it raises uncomfortable questions as to the extent to which influence peddling exists in Congress.
Okay. NOW we're getting somewhere...
Influence pedaling is legal, taking and/or offering bribes is not. The NRA pedals the influence (that is the votes), of it's millions of members and many more millions who follow it's lead, all the time. That's a kind of influence pedaling is perfectly legal and even ethical.
"Another Jefferson associate, a Louisville, Ky., telecommunications executive named Vernon Jackson, has pleaded guilty to paying more than $400,000 in bribes to Jefferson in exchange for his assistance securing business deals in Nigeria and other African nations."
Looks like this may be just the tip of an iceberg (excuse the pun, $90k in freezer)