Posted on 09/24/2006 6:50:55 AM PDT by Libloather
Timing in case against Jefferson tricky
Election may affect when feds tip hand
Sunday, September 24, 2006
By Bruce Alpert
WASHINGTON -- With the selection last week of a technology expert to copy documents from computer hard drives taken from Rep. William Jefferson's office, the Justice Department might soon have the material it says it needs to wrap up its 18-month investigation of the New Orleans Democrat.
That could leave the agency with a dilemma: Should the department decide whether to seek an indictment of Jefferson before the Nov. 7 primary or wait until after the race is decided?
**SNIP**
"The policy is that you should bring an indictment when you have the evidence and when you are ready to proceed without consideration for an election," said Eric Holder, who headed the department's public integrity section during the Clinton administration.
A current Justice Department official, who asked not to be identified because he feared his "general remarks about process" might seem aimed at the Jefferson probe, said an election could be one of many factors considered. But he said it is a relatively minor one and is even less important in a case where the public is already aware that the elected official is the target of a probe.
**SNIP**
In the past, the Justice Department has indicted elected officials right before and right after elections. Either way, the timing has generated criticism. Indictments just after an election have been criticized for not giving voters information they needed to evaluate the candidate up for re-election. Indictments just prior to an election have been attacked as attempts to snuff out the official's re-election chances.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
WASHINGTON The cooling-off period ends today on documents temporarily sealed by President Bush in the bribery case of Congressman William Jefferson.
The Louisiana Democrat has been the focus of prosecutors and investigators who suspect him of taking 400-thousand dollars in bribes from a business executive.
Bush placed materials seized from Jefferson's Capitol Hill office off limits for 45 days, but that time is up. A court will decide if the F-B-I's searches in May were an unconstitutional intrusion. Until a judge rules, prosecutors won't examine the materials agents seized.
http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=5129054
This crook DEMOCRAt needs to be indicted as soon as possible. He is a feckless crapweasel and needs to go down.. DOWN!!!!!!!!! But he love he city.
Primary?
Have to wonder if the Drive By would publish a title for an article like this if it were a Republican? No, they would be praising the timing of the indictment.
Yes. In Louisiana the primary is on the date the rest of the country has as its general election. The Louisiana general election is held in December. Also, in Louisiana it's the top 2 vote-getters regardless of party.
Where is the up-date? Who is doing the criticizing? Names please always names, otherwise the accusation are just that accusations and that carries no weight.
Thanks. Learn something new every day!
If this was you or me, would they wait until we celebrated our birthday before indicting us?
hey if anyone else but a lib/dem was caught with 90 grand in their freezer...how long would it be before the indictment would come? this scumbag..part of the lib/dem normalcy should be perp walked out of the house on capitol hill....then let that bug eyes botox pelosi squawk to the US public about the republican culture of corruption!!!!
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