Democrat Jefferson Taped Accepting Cash, FBI Affidavit Says
May 22 (Bloomberg) -- Federal investigators said in court papers that they videotaped Democratic Representative William Jefferson accepting a leather briefcase packed with $100,000 in cash from a government witness in a bribery investigation.
Jefferson, of Louisiana, also was recorded in a telephone conversation promising to help the unnamed witness with a business venture in Nigeria and Ghana, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit filed to support a search warrant for Jefferson's congressional office.
``I will give it a thousand percent, as you might imagine,'' Jefferson was quoted as saying during a telephone conversation, according to the FBI documents, which were released by the Department of Justice yesterday.
Federal agents searched Jefferson's office in the Rayburn Building near to the Capitol on Saturday night looking for computer files or other records related to an investigation of bribery and wire fraud, according to documents from the U.S. Attorney's office and the FBI. It was the latest step in a corruption probe in which Kentucky businessman Vernon Jackson, 53, has pleaded guilty to bribing a public official by paying him to help win telecommunications deals in Africa. The public official wasn't named in the plea agreement.
Jefferson, 59, hasn't been charged with a crime. In a news conference last week he proclaimed his innocence and vowed to fight the allegations against him. Melanie Roussell, a spokeswoman for Jefferson, declined to comment on the federal affidavit. His lawyer, Robert Trout, didn't return telephone messages seeking a response.
Public Disapproval
Scandals involving members of Congress over the past year have contributed to falling approval ratings for lawmakers among the public. A May 11-15 Washington Post-ABC News poll found 63 percent of the public disapproved of the job Congress is doing and 55 percent said they are inclined to vote for someone other than their current representative in the November elections.
Jefferson's case, as well as that of Democratic Representative Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, may complicate efforts by Democrats to capitalize on a series of scandals involving Republicans. Mollohan, who has stepped down temporarily as a member of the House Ethics Committee, has been accused of misstating his personal assets. He has said he is innocent of any wrongdoing.
In past court filings, prosecutors alleged Jefferson received more than $400,000 from a Kentucky company and had a 30 percent interest in a Nigerian company transferred to his children. The Kentucky company, iGate Inc., based in Louisville, was owned by Vernon Jackson, who has pleaded guilty to bribing a public official.
Phone Calls Recorded
According to the affidavit released yesterday, the FBI recorded phone calls between Jefferson and a cooperating witness, who is not identified, in which they discussed the possibility of a $100,000 payment to Jefferson in exchange for assistance in a Nigerian business venture.
Federal investigators said they videotaped Jefferson on July 30, 2005, accepting the cash in a leather briefcase from the witness and putting it in his 1990 Lincoln Towncar following a meeting at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.
All but $10,000 of the money was found in a freezer when the FBI searched Jefferson's Washington-area home on Aug. 3, 2005, a search that previously was disclosed. The money was stuffed in food containers and wrapped in aluminum foil, according to the affidavit. Some of the money, $4,800, was given to a legislative assistant in Jefferson's office as a loan to address her financial difficulties, the FBI said.
In Jackson's plea agreement, he said he and Jefferson had an agreement that called for Jackson's company to make monthly payments of $7,500 and give the lawmaker stock options and a percentage of gross sales, the court papers said. Jackson's company developed technology designed to transmit data, audio and video communications over copper wire.
Ghana Trip
Investigators claim in the FBI document that Jefferson communicated with government officials in Nigeria and Ghana in an effort to secure business for iGate. Jefferson used his congressional staff to plan a Ghana trip that was paid for by a cooperating witness, according to the FBI.
Jefferson also allegedly solicited $3 million from the witness that was to be used in an effort to take control of iGate, the documents said. The money, to be funneled through his children, would be in exchange for Jefferson's official acts of promoting business operations in Africa, the documents alleged.
The FBI released the affidavit following the conclusion of its search. All or parts of 69 out of the 92 pages of the affidavit were blacked out, including the list of items that agents were looking for. The FBI said it had exhausted other efforts to obtain these documents, though the affidavit redacted sections related to that effort.
`Probable Cause'
``There is probable cause to believe that'' Jefferson's office ``contains property constituting evidence of the commission'' of ``bribery of a public official,'' and wire fraud, the affidavit, signed by FBI agent Timothy Thibault, said.
The House ethics committee said last week it would investigate allegations that Jefferson accepted gifts in return for official favors, as well as whether his family members received cash, stock shares, promises to receive future profits or other items of value in exchange for official favors.
Jefferson said at a news conference May 15 that he would ``not plead guilty to something I did not do, no matter how things are made to look and no matter the risks.''
Democrats, as they try to regain control of the House and Senate in the November elections, have attempted to tie the Republican Party to the series of scandals touching on Congress.
Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff has pleaded guilty to conspiring to corrupt public officials. He is cooperating with federal prosecutors in Washington who have won three guilty pleas from former aides to Republican Representatives Bob Ney of Ohio and Tom DeLay of Texas. DeLay, who is resigning from Congress, and Ney, who gave up a committee chairmanship, deny wrongdoing.
In addition, Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham, a former Republican representative from California, was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison in March after admitting he took $2.4 million in defense contractors' bribes.
To contact the reporter on this story:
William McQuillen in Washington at
bmcquillen@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: May 22, 2006 00:09 EDT |
