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William Jefferson (D-La.) Meets With Congressional Lawmakers (Maybe Ousted From Powerful Committee)
WDSU ^ | 6/07/06

Posted on 06/07/2006 4:22:17 PM PDT by Libloather

Jefferson To Meet With Congressional Lawmakers
UPDATED: 3:20 pm CDT June 7, 2006

WASHINGTON -- A spokeswoman for Rep. William Jefferson said he will attend a meeting with congressional lawmakers.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi asked Jefferson to appear before the Democratic Steering Committee on Wednesday afternoon.

The committee, which is charged with determining panel assignments, could vote to oust Jefferson from the powerful House Ways and Means Committee while he is under investigation.

According to court documents, U.S. Rep. William Jefferson told an FBI informant, that Nigeria's vice president sought up to $500,000 and a stake in a technology venture in his country.

Jefferson allegedly told the FBI informant that he had delivered "African art," which authorities believe was the code for cash, to the Potomac, Md., home of the wife of Nigerian vice president last July 31.

Details of the alleged deal were included in an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court to secure a warrant to search the Potomac home.

The affidavit said delivery of the money came shortly after Jefferson allegedly received $100,000 in cash from the FBI informant that was supposed to help smooth the way for the Kentucky telecommunications company, iGate Inc., to conduct business in Nigeria.

It is unclear if any of that money was delivered to the vice president's home.

According to another search warrant affidavit for Jefferson's congressional office, filed last month, $90,000 in cash was found in a freezer at Jefferson's Washington home.

Jefferson, who represents most of New Orleans, has served in Congress since 1990. The raid on his Capitol Hill office sparked outrage from congressional leaders who claimed the Bush administration was violating the separation of powers doctrine.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bribe; committee; congressional; dla; jefferson; lawmakers; meet; ousted; perp; powerful; rats; william
Latest on Jefferson probe
June 6, 2006 04:24 PM PDT

New details have emerged in a federal bribery probe of Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson. FBI documents unsealed today include records of a conversation between Jefferson and an informant.

Jefferson allegedly tells the man that the vice president of Nigeria was demanding half a million dollars and a stake in a telecommunications company.

Jefferson has not been charged and has denied taking bribes to perform his public duties.

Nigeria's vice president also denies any involvement.

http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=4996825&nav=menu209_2

1 posted on 06/07/2006 4:22:24 PM PDT by Libloather
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To: Liz
Nigerian link led to FBI raid in corruption case
By Philip Shenon The New York Times
Published: June 7, 2006

WASHINGTON The FBI raided the Maryland home of the vice president of Nigeria last summer in search of bribe money that the bureau believed had been paid to him by Representative William Jefferson, according to court documents.

The documents released Tuesday included an affidavit signed by an FBI agent who said that the Nigerian vice president, Atiku Abubakar, now a candidate for president of that oil-rich West African country, asked for at least half of the profits of a technology company controlled by Jefferson that was seeking to do business in Nigeria.

About the same time last year, the documents said, Jefferson told colleagues of his plans to bribe Nigerian officials, including Abubakar, in exchange for their help in winning business in Nigeria, and that Abubakar would be paid as much as $500,000 in cash.

The FBI affidavit, which was dated Aug. 2, and other documents were made public over the objections of Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat who is the target of a wide-ranging corruption investigation. He has denied wrongdoing and has said the information in the court papers would unfairly damage his reputation.

In the affidavit, an FBI agent, Edward Cooper, said cellphone records suggested that Jefferson visited a home owned by Abubakar and his wife in Potomac, Maryland, an affluent suburb of Washington, around midnight last July 31 with the intention of delivering money to the Nigerian leader while he was on a visit to the United States. The next day, the FBI said, Jefferson told a confidential informant that he had delivered "African art," which the agent described as code for a cash payment, and that Abubakar "was very pleased."

The documents, which were released by a U.S. court in Greenbelt, Maryland, do not show what was seized by the FBI in the search of the Maryland home, nor do they show if the Nigerian leader ever received any money from Jefferson.

A separate search of Jefferson's home in Washington in August turned up $90,000 in cash that, FBI documents suggest, had been intended for the Nigerian leader. An FBI affidavit stated that the money had been hidden by Jefferson in his home freezer.

The Nigerian Embassy in Washington had no comment Tuesday on the disclosures in the court documents about Abubakar, whose name had emerged previously in news reports about the investigation of Jefferson. The Associated Press quoted a spokesman for Abubakar in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, as declining to comment Tuesday "until we have seen these reports or allegations." Jefferson's congressional office referred questions to his lawyer, who has not returned repeated phone calls seeking comment.

Bush administration officials have been reluctant to speculate publicly about the effect of the investigation of Jefferson on American relations with Nigeria, which is one of the largest exporters of oil to the United States.

"With regard to the Nigerian business venture, Jefferson has discussed the making of payments to high-ranking government officials there, including the vice president of Nigeria," Cooper wrote in the affidavit last August, which was intended to persuade a judge to allow the search of Abubakar's Maryland home.

"The vice president agreed to help secure the necessary approvals for the participants in the Nigerian business venture" in exchange for "at least 50 percent of the profits," it continued, adding that Jefferson had also discussed "the payment of a substantial monetary sum" to Abubakar "in the range of up to $500,000."

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/07/news/raid.php

2 posted on 06/07/2006 4:29:15 PM PDT by Libloather (They can't privatize Social Security but they can find a way to give it to illegal aliens...)
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To: Libloather

I hope he gets voted out permanently.. nothing less would be demanded by the other Aisle were the offendant say someone named Delay


3 posted on 06/07/2006 4:31:17 PM PDT by Cinnamon
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To: Libloather
Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., makes a statement at Washington's National Airport on his way to Switzerland. (AP)

" I was only helping out a distinguished foreign leader."

"What happened was that I got an email from Nigerian General Kachinga Cheatchusuckah."

"Now, once Idi Amin's secret Ugandan gold reserves are transferred from a Swiss bank vault to a refrigerated truck I leased, it will all make sense."

4 posted on 06/07/2006 4:38:03 PM PDT by Liz (The US Constitution is intended to protect the people from the government.)
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To: Libloather

This is Jefferson's chance. If he is willing to split the swag with his fellow Democrat/Socialists they will let him off the hook. What Jefferson needs now is a good negotiator.


5 posted on 06/07/2006 4:39:05 PM PDT by R.W.Ratikal (8)
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To: Libloather
Jefferson allegedly told the FBI informant that he had delivered "African art" to the Nigerians.


6 posted on 06/07/2006 4:41:54 PM PDT by Liz (The US Constitution is intended to protect the people from the government.)
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To: Cinnamon
I find it significant that Delay didn't rate this kind of help from his Republican colleagues, that Jefferson is getting.

Delay for president! And may the devil take the RINOs who want to fill the presidential primary slate and exclude any neoconservative candidate!!!! Thats why Delay was unmade, he was becoming a presidential threat and his bl;ood wasn't quite aristocratic enough!

7 posted on 06/07/2006 4:50:33 PM PDT by Candor7
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To: Liz

When I got my letter about the money in Africa I just threw it away. Boy am I stupid. I to could have $90 large in my freezer if I had only sent them the money they had asked for.


8 posted on 06/07/2006 5:11:12 PM PDT by Recon Dad (Marine Spec Ops Dad)
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To: Libloather

So where's the 10K--was it just walking around money?
On its way to Nigeria?
Bar Tab with Patches?


9 posted on 06/07/2006 5:42:18 PM PDT by rod1
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To: R.W.Ratikal

I think Bagdad Jim had Nigeria on his travel docket. I am sure he can help spread some "good news" on Jefferson's behalf.


10 posted on 06/07/2006 5:44:19 PM PDT by rod1
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To: Recon Dad

Hey, you live and learn.....LOL.


11 posted on 06/07/2006 6:27:39 PM PDT by Liz (The US Constitution is intended to protect the people from the government.)
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