Posted on 04/02/2007 6:35:30 PM PDT by SubGeniusX
Embattled Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.), the target of a two-year public-corruption probe, is finding himself with strange bedfellows these days.
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), former House minority leader Robert Michel (R-Ill.) and Scott Palmer, former chief of staff for Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), are among those who have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, backing Jefferson's argument that the controversial FBI raid on his office last May was unconstitutional.
"These former leaders of the House had concerns about the integrity and independence of the institution, and therefore they decided to file this joint brief," said lawyer James Hamilton, who filed an amicus brief on behalf of Gingrich and Michel as well as former House speaker Thomas Foley (D-Wash.).
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The African Connection: Rep. Jefferson and Joe Wilson
By Clarice Feldman p> The documents seized in the FBI raid on the offices of Rep. William Jefferson (DLA) remain unread by Justice Department investigators, pending a federal Appeals Court ruling scheduled for August 27. Jefferson is anxious to overturn the ruling of federal Judge Hogan of the Washington, DC federal District Court, who allowed the raid. One can only surmise that the seized documents contain material even more embarrassing than the discovery of $90,000 in cash in Jefferson's freezer.
But we already know a bit about the charges and some of the alleged partners of Congressman Jefferson. Two people have pleaded guilty to bribing him. One of them is Vernon L. Jackson, owner of a technology company called iGate. The Washington Post reported:�
Federal authorities have alleged in court documents that Jefferson took more than $500,000 in bribes in exchange for using his official position to promote iGate's technology in Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon. The FBI said it videotaped Jefferson taking a $100,000 payoff on July 30, 2005.
The affidavit discloses an alleged scheme in which Jefferson introduced officials from Netlink Digital Television (NDTV), a Nigerian company, to Jackson.
NDTV agreed to pay iGate nearly $45 million for the right to use its technology and to distribute it in Nigeria. The affidavit alleges that Jefferson, without iGate's knowledge, separately negotiated with NDTV officials to receive $5 for each subscriber in "return for Jefferson's official assistance if the deal was successful."
The Post also reports that investigators are examining a number of other companies linked to Jefferson, his wife, and various other relatives. While no details have leaked, and the seized documents have not yet yielded their secrets, it is quite probable that the bribery iGate's owner�has acknowledged is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the dubious business associations of Representative Jefferson.
Many other figures, some of them quite prominent, are likely to turn up as players in the temporarily suspended probe. Independent citizeninvestigators, posting at such websites as Just One Minute, Macsmind, and Free Republic, have been poring over publiclyavailable documents and reports, in search of clues as to the identities of those as yet unnamed in the Jefferson investigation.
Few people outside these internet circles realize that one of those names may be Joseph C. Wilson IV.
The JeffersonJoe Wilson Connection
Macsmind first mentioned this in May.�I have been thinking about this possibility and reviewing the detailed and welldocumented research published at Free Republic by a poster known as 'Fedora,' who has examined public domain information and connected some very interesting dots. Joe Wilson, it turns out, left the State Department and became a business promoter with some rather intriguing connections before he went on his infamous mission to Niger.
In 1998 [Wilson left the State Department and began putting his diplomatic contacts to business use. He formed J.C. Wilson International Ventures Corporation, a business development and management company which ventured in gold, oil, and telecommunications and served clients in Africa, Western Europe, and Turkey. At this time new African markets were emerging due to the recent passage of an African trade bill Wilson had helped President Clinton promote. Wilson's African investment interests included oil markets in several parts of Africa and the gold market in Niger. Wilson also kept abreast of the gold market in Iraq, where the price of gold was exceptionally cheap, as Wilson observed in one of his lectures.10 [....]
Wilson ran his company out of the offices of an investment company called Rock Creek Corporation. Rock Creek was controlled by Mohammed Alamoudi, whom Wilson had met in 1997 at a reception organized for the World Bank by Westar Group. Alamoudi was a member of the SaudiEthiopian Alamoudi dynasty, which was heavily invested in the segments of the African economy Wilson was seeking to penetrate.
The Alamoudiaffiliated company Delta Servicesa Swiss subsidiary of the Saudi company Delta Oilhandled Iraqi oil export contracts in 2000 and 2001 and was revealed in 2003 as a recipient of Iraqi OilforFood vouchers channeled through Abu Abbas, a Palestinian terrorist with Iraqi connections. Delta Services also cooperated with Afghanistan's Taliban regime in a project to build an oil pipeline from Afghanistan to Pakistan, prior to this project's suspension in 1998. In 1999, Alamoudi was accused by USA Today reporter Jack Kelley of heading a bank which was being investigated for financing Al Qaeda.
USA Today printed retractions of several details in Kelley's article in 2004, after another member of the Alamoudi familyAbdurahman Alamoudi, a prominent American Muslim lobbyistwas indicted on terrorrelated charges involving a Libyanbacked conspiracy to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah. Abdurahman was ultimately convicted in October 2004 and sentenced to 23 years in prison.12 Under Mohammed Alamoudi's direction, Rock Creek was chaired by Elias Aburdene, an ArabAmerican international banking advisor and lobbyist who had previously advised banks linked to organized crime and intelligence community figures involved in the S&L Scam. In 2003 and 2004 Aburdene donated to the Sandhills Political Action Committee, which was affiliated with Senator Chuck Hagel, 13 a leading Republican critic of the Bush administration's Iraq policy.14
Clinton, Lewisnski, and Africa
Recall the trip to Africa conducted by Bill Clinton in the wake of the embarrassing Monica Lewinski affair, playing to his most reliable voting base, and bringing with him a very large number of AfricanAmerican business figures, politicians, and other influential individuals.
The trip� cost almost $50 million and was tagged as the most expensive foreign trip by a US President.� Much of this expense was for transportation for the Clinton's took a large delegation with them. The delegation included Jesse Jackson, prominent Black businessmen such as Bob Johnson and the following Congressional delegation: Congressmen Payne ,William Jefferson and� Rangel and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, as well as Secretary Slater.� (Source)�
What is less well known is that the man who orchestrated this trip was Joseph C. Wilson IV costar of the longrunning Plame comedy hour.
'"Joe Wilson really was the architect of President Clinton's visit to Africa," said Leonard Robinson, senior fellow at the McCormack Institute and deputy executive director of the National Summit on Africa.
The emphasis of this trip was to promote African development, US investment in Africa and USAfrican trade.����
Wilson's role was acknowledged by Clinton. When he hosted a dinner for Ghana's visiting President, Wilson and his wife, noted in the press account of the dinner as 'Valerie Wilson' were among the guests. Another honored guest was� Congressman William Jefferson and his daughter.
According to the SSCI Wilson made at least one other trip to Africa That was made at his wife's suggestion for the CIA in 1999. He made�the second trip there that year as part of a trade delegation. As Just One Minute poster Rocco found these tidbits:
Mima Nedelcovych, Vice President for International Operations, F. C. Schaffer and Associates, Inc traveled with Wilson, Alamoudi and others in Nov. 99, for a trade delegation.
Nedelcovych gave Jefferson campaign donations in 01, 02, and 05.
F. C. Schaffer and Associates is a small Louisiana based sugar company but the curious thing is, the donations aren't from Schaffer, they're from AFRKA GLOBAL/PARTNER
As for the Alamoudis, a substantial amount of information about the family and their links can be found here�(see comment 7)
Following the Wilsonmanaged Clinton trip, the� African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was signed into law on May 18, 2000 as Title 1 of The Trade and Development Act of 2000. The Act offers tangible incentives for African countries to continue their efforts to open their economies and build free markets.
Corruption , however, has been a continuing problem in Africa and those monitoring the impact of the Act have urged more transparency and monitoring of those countries deemed eligible to participate.
Joe Wilson's new incarnation as a wheelerdealer in corruptionrife countries in Africa was a perfect fit for his role as impresario of the massive Clinton delegation to Africa, which brought together corruptionstained individuals on the lookout for future business opportunities.
The investigation of William Jefferson may well shed some unwanted light on him, many others in Congress, the Clintons, Wilson and who exactly the AGOA benefited and how.�August 27th is coming soon.
Clarice Feldman is an attorney in Washington, DC and a frequent contributor. Comments
Newt’s jumping the shark moment, falling short and being devored for such a stupid move. Potus material, I think not.
Newts went off the deep end. Bye Newt.
I agree with the majority here. They are trying to cover their own butts. There is no telling what any of these crooks have hidden in their offices. They ant that evidence to be sacred when it is hidden in a Congressional office.
Now as for Jefferson the Feds should either charge the man or give him back his bribe money. No case should take this long. IMO they havent got the balls to charge him/
It’s bad enough Newt is supporting this cheating scumbag Jefferson, but Newt has also become best friends with Hillary Clinton over the past few years.
And yet we have freepers here who want Newt to run for the presidency.
I’ve been saying it. Newt already proved he wasn’t ready for the big time once already. Rudy and McCain are also not ready but STILL some freepers keep pushing these losers.
Sure. That's why Rudy is the front runner nationally. Because he's not ready.
Maybe before I die those FBI files will find their way onto the Internet.... what kewl reading it will be... I’m just hoping for video as well...
Why in God’s name would Newt Gingrich cast his lot with those who believe that a Congressman’s office - - paid for by we the taxpayers - - should be a safe haven for a Congressman to operate a criminal enterprise? It makes me throw up in my mouth a little.
Howard Dean was the front runner for almost a year duing the last Presidental race. This far ahead of the election, it means nothing. Rudy will NEVER be the President. Bank on it.
tell me what you really think, LOL
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