William Jefferson Convicted
[Guest post by DRJ]
An Alexandria, Virginia, federal jury today convicted former Louisiana Democratic Congressman William Jefferson of taking bribes. The evidence against him included $90,000 in cash “wrapped in foil and hidden in boxes of frozen pie crust” in his freezer. [EDIT: Jefferson wasn't convicted on one count in which the government alleged these funds were to be used to bribe a foreign official. See below and Nola.com. H/T reff.]
Jefferson was convicted on 11 of 16 counts, and his case involved a legal issue of first impression:
“Jefferson was acquitted of counts that included obstruction of justice and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He was the first official to be charged with violating that act, which makes it illegal to bribe foreign government officials.
The defense argued that Jefferson was acting as a private business consultant in brokering the deals and that his actions did not constitute bribery under federal law.”
Jefferson’s trial lasted 8 weeks and the jury deliberated 5 days. The prosecutor said that Jefferson could be sentenced to 20 years under federal sentencing guidelines. Defense counsel says Jefferson will appeal.
– DRJ
Obviously a racist jury.
Comment by Old Coot — 8/5/2009 @ 5:12 pm
Just another instance of whitey oppressing the black man.
Comment by nk — 8/5/2009 @ 5:20 pm
For a moment there, I thought it said “William Jefferson Clinton” convicted.
Comment by Official Internet Data Office — 8/5/2009 @ 5:31 pm
Interestingly enough, the jury found him not guilty on the count that involved the $90K in the freeaer….but guilty on money laundering….
and, of course, the media questioning him after let him slide on that “honorable explanation” about the money….
Please media…do your job….
On another “unrelated” note….my new congressman, Joseph Cao, Jefferson’s replacement, may not be as conservative as those who elected him….
Comment by reff — 8/5/2009 @ 5:47 pm
Thanks for the update, reff. I added the freezer info to the post with a Nola.com link.
Comment by DRJ — 8/5/2009 @ 5:53 pm
[object]has a good video on Jefferson’s response, and the same site has several videos on Jefferson’s “shady” actions….
Hope I got the link to work….
[note: fished from spam filter]
Comment by reff — 8/5/2009 @ 6:00 pm
Tried to link to local TV responses, but it’s caught in the filter….I’ll let DRJ pull it out, and thanks for the H/T….
Comment by reff — 8/5/2009 @ 6:01 pm
Mr Jefferson will appeal; his attorneys are looking forward to increased fees, paid in cold cash.
Comment by The snarky Dana — 8/5/2009 @ 6:03 pm
Surprised it took the jury that long.
Comment by JEA — 8/5/2009 @ 6:18 pm
Another news story, with some insight….[object]
Comment by reff — 8/5/2009 @ 6:29 pm
Congratulations to Mr. Jefferson. He might go to a country club for a bit, but his longevity in the Democratic Party is now assured.
Comment by malclave — 8/5/2009 @ 6:45 pm
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Pingback by William Jefferson found guilty on 11 of 16 counts | Political Byline — 8/5/2009 @ 7:37 pm
Mr. Jefferson will appeal…directly to the Oval Office.
Comment by AD - RtR/OS! — 8/5/2009 @ 7:38 pm
Perhaps he will be given a “Czar” post while he is waiting for his appeal.
Comment by PatAZ — 8/5/2009 @ 8:04 pm
William Jefferson (D-Convicted)
What more can I say?
Comment by MarkJ — 8/5/2009 @ 8:55 pm
[...] “Cold Cash” Jefferson has finally been convicted of bribery. Good riddance. Now let’s start going after the rest of the rascals in Congress. Related [...]
Pingback by Throw away the key : Pursuing Holiness — 8/5/2009 @ 8:58 pm
This is not a negative to the Dems. It is a feature, not a bug.
Comment by JD — 8/5/2009 @ 9:00 pm
Jefferson is already under contract to write a book about the whole thing, called “Dreams From My Freezer.”
Comment by Official Internet Data Office — 8/5/2009 @ 10:20 pm
@ 18:
I thought it was gonna be called “The Audacity of Taking Bribes”?
What, too obvious?
Comment by KingShamus — 8/6/2009 @ 4:16 am
WHAT DO YOU CALL “COLD CASH” JEFFERSON WRAPPED IN CHAINS AND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN??????????????????????????????????????
I CALL IT A GOOD START !
Comment by Lou — 8/6/2009 @ 5:39 am
OH, by the way………..Lou is short for LOUISIANA !
Comment by Lou — 8/6/2009 @ 5:42 am
And the Dem-loving alphabet soup Mainstream Media’s coverage consists of: ……wait for it……….the sound of crickets chirping!
Shit, I follow the news pretty closely and even I didn’t even know his damn trial had even started, and it started 8 bloody weeks ago for crying out loud. Oh, if only he had been an “R” then everyone in the whole world would know……
Comment by J. Raymond Wright — 8/6/2009 @ 5:51 am
you know, for some reason I didn’t catch this in my local Cox paper. If he’d only been Republican…
Comment by texmarc — 8/6/2009 @ 7:56 am
here it is,…in the obits section.
Comment by texmarc — 8/6/2009 @ 9:01 am
You are all racists. Just like the Obama Joker poster is racist. Vile racists you all are.
Comment by JD — 8/6/2009 @ 9:04 am
Thank God that William Jefferson was convicted. What a crook! For about five minutes it’ll restore my faith in the judicial system. Hopefully, he’ll receive the maximum sentence. For those making the “racist” and “whitey” comments, give me a break and get a life. While you’re at it, look for a brain. Take a look at Jefferson’s write-up on Wikipedia. The educational opportunities that he and his family have had are just a little better than the average “whitey,” wouldn’t you say? I’ve never been to Harvard, nor has anyone in my family. I’m white; can I claim discrimination? And look at how many Jefferson family members have some kind of connection to criminal wrongdoing. It’s disgusting; throw this bum in jail and throw away the key.
Comment by Mike Christie — 8/12/2009 @ 5:14 pm