Former Democratic Congressman William Jefferson was convicted yesterday of 11 counts of bribery, racketeering, and money laundering. He was acquitted on 5 bribery counts and also acquitted of obstruction of justice and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He faces more than 20 years in federal prison.
In a six-week trial, prosecutors said that from 2000 to 2005, Mr. Jefferson sought hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from a dozen companies involved in oil, communications, sugar and other businesses, often for projects in Africa.
In return, prosecutors said, Mr. Jefferson used his position as a member of the House Ways and Means trade subcommittee to promote the companies’ ventures without disclosing his own financial stakes in the deals.
Mr. Jefferson led official delegations to Africa, wrote letters to American and foreign officials and had members of his staff promote ventures in Nigeria, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea in which he had a financial interest, prosecutors said. While he sought millions of dollars in bribes, Mr. Jefferson may have actually received less than $400,000, the prosecutors said.
You may remember Mr. Jefferson as the incredibly inept criminal who kept bribe money in his freezer. His attorney says he’ll appeal. I’m stunned.
As it unfolded over several years, the Jefferson case set off a government battle of constitutional proportions. It also had hints of international intrigue and elements of near-comedy, as when the Federal Bureau of Investigation found $90,000 neatly wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in Mr. Jefferson’s home freezer.
The constitutional clash unfolded after F.B.I. agents raided Mr. Jefferson’s Congressional office in May 2006, the first time the bureau had searched a Congressional office. The raid was denounced by lawmakers in both parties who said that the Justice Department, through the F.B.I., had committed an unconstitutional intrusion on Congressional independence.
A federal judge upheld the raid, but an appeals court ruled that it was constitutionally flawed and that some documents should be returned to Mr. Jefferson. The Supreme Court let that ruling stand.
I’m so glad he’s a former Congressman.