Democratic Congressman Expected to Be Indicted : a friend of buddy
By DAVID STOUT
Published: June 4, 2007
WASHINGTON, June 4 — Representative William J. Jefferson of Louisiana is expected to be indicted on corruption charges this afternoon in connection with an inquiry that has yielded tales of cash stuffed into home freezers and financial transactions with several African countries.
Evidence was being presented today to a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., in advance of a news conference at Justice Department headquarters in Washington, scheduled for mid-afternoon. At the news conference, Justice officials are expected to announce a multiple-count indictment against Mr. Jefferson, whose New Orleans constituents elected him to a ninth term last year despite the accusations swirling around him.
Mr. Jefferson, 60, has denied wrongdoing.
He has been under suspicion in connection with his efforts to promote contracts in Africa for iGate, a small digital-technology company based in Louisville, Ky. The Congressman has been influential on African issues in his years in the House.
The head of the technology company, Vernon L. Jackson, has already pleaded guilty to paying more than $400,000 in bribes for Mr. Jefferson’s help, and he has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
In 2005, as the inquiry progressed, F.B.I. agents raided Mr. Jefferson’s home, opened a freezer and found $90,000 in cash, money the investigators said was intended for a bribe of a Nigerian politician on behalf of Mr. Jackson.
In return for promoting the digital company in Africa, Mr. Jefferson demanded part-ownership of the business for his family, investigators have alleged.
The investigation also sparked an incident with constitutional implications when agents raided the Capitol Hill offices of Mr. Jefferson. Mr. Jefferson asserted that the raid was unconstitutional, and for a time investigators were blocked from reviewing the documents that were seized in the raid.
Investigators maintain that Mr. Jefferson prodded the Pentagon to test iGate products, lobbied politicians in several African countries to include the company in telecommunications projects, and repeatedly urged the Export-Import Bank of the United States to finance the deals.
His dealings cost Mr. Jefferson a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee, when Democratic leaders voted last summer to oust him. Nevertheless, he captured more than 60 percent of the vote in his Congressional district last year.
Members of Congress may continue to serve while under indictment. |
