William Jefferson, the corrupt Democratic lawmaker, is apparently trying to delay the inevitable with this ruling:
A federal appeals court has allowed Rep. William Jefferson to review all the documents taken from his office by the FBI in a May search of his office that stems from an ongoing bribery investigation.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia returned the case to the U.S. District Court and ordered that Jefferson have two days to review copies of the material seized, which includes more than a dozen computer hard drives and two boxes of paper documents.
This would allow the Louisiana Democrat to say which documents are legislative in nature in the hopes of preventing them from being considered by the courts in any further action regarding the bribery case.
The district court also must perform its own review of the documents to determine their admissibility.
Believe me people, this is just a delay. This guy is so corrupt that he could stand tall beside Boss Tweed.
VICE-PRESIDENT Atiku Abubakar's wife, Jennifer, has been indicted in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe of US Congressman, William Jefferson, over bribery involving a transnational tele-communications deal. Jennifer resides in the Potomac, Maryland home of Atiku which was raided on August 3, 2005, by the FBI in connection with the bribery investigation.
In a report on Tuesday, the FBI revealed that a taped conversation between Jefferson and a wired Mody saw the embattled American lawmaker describing Jennifer as a "front". Jefferson told Mody that the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Gede Foundation, being operated in Washington by Jennifer, was a front, being used to channel illegal funds by the Atiku family.
Gede Foundation, according to the founder, was to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The affidavit recently unsealed by the FBI on the investigation also quoted Jefferson as describing Atiku Abubakar as "a businessman who has more deals than the man in the moon and he's a very well, the word might be… corrupt".
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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.
We have only hit the first few innings in this ride folks. Boss Jefferson will help keep this caper on the front burner for many many months. Fighting and scratching all the way to the Penn.
What big event is coming up in the next four months again?
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Interesting Ordi, I know I posted awhile back about Joe Wilson’s connection to Jefferson…it may run way deeper.
thumbup_fa I like it Carol!
Wily, some in Congress feel that they are above the law….that’s it in a nutshell.
Jefferson is toast..you know it, I know it, everybody knows it. So, why the huge war over these doc’s? I mean, there’s no logic to it, unless… they demonstrate connections between Jefferson and other people in Washington who are not now known for corruption. Think it thru…follow the money!
Okay then. But I still say they should check this guy’s socks and pants before he is allowed to leave the building. LOL…here’s a demonstration
moon_fa
Sorry, couldn’t resist. My bad!
Carol
Curt,
The FBI also provided a ‘new twist’ to the investigation on friday. They are not letting fridays court order stop or slow down their investigation. In my search, I also found this:
The corruption trial of US congress man, Rep William Jefferson has taken a new twist as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Friday asked Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to help in investigations by interviewing three Nigerian governors.
A Media Adviser to Vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, Mr Adinoyi Onukaba Ojo told a correspondent of the Washington Post that the vice-president and others had been urging EFCC to release any FBI report on the case, adding that such a report would show that Atiku did nothing wrong. Onukaba also said other Nigerian officials who had contacts with Jefferson will be investigated in the process.
Atiku has continued to maintain he is innocent, according to the report. A recent statement through his Washington lawyer reads thus: ‘I have no relationship with Mr Jefferson, personal or private, other than the usual diplomatic courtesies extended to a high-ranking US official who states that he is interested in promoting trade, investment and the transfer of technology to Nigeria.’
The report said Jefferson is undergoing trial in the United States of America (USA) for allegedly receiving bribe to use his congressional position and contact with Abubakar to facilitate a lucrative Nigerian telecommunications contract for a firm in Kentucky. Jefferson was quoted on tape as saying that Atiku was ‘corrupt’ and needed bribe in return for his help.
The report stated that the vice-president’s allies and public relations advisers insist Jefferson made up the alleged demand of bribe by Atiku, saying the large amounts of cash found in the congress man’s freezer attests to that.
It would be recalled that an FBI raid on the lawmakers house turned up $90,000 cash in his freezer. He was also caught on video tape accepting a large payoff.
Nigeria: Jefferson – FBI Seeks EFCC’s Assistance
This article brings home the point that Jefferson is truly in deep kimchee.
Also here is a Things that make you go hmmmmm
The article above says the WaPo asked questions about this Nigeria development but I could find no mention of Nigeria in their article for the Sat. paper. Now, grant it there could be another article but……
Jefferson Wins A Round in Court