Something is rotten in Denmark...or it may be somewhat closer than that. We've had a flurry of news stories this week out of Washington, DC, ever since the raid on Representative William Jefferson's office by the Federal Bureau of Investigation...and it seems to have gotten EVERYONE worked up. After all the trimmings and trappings are cleared away, though, the only REAL question is this: Did Jefferson, in fact, use his position illegally for self-enrichment?
Well, personally, I don't know and I don't care...
Representative William Jefferson is a Democrat from Lousiana. Like every other member of the House of Representatives, he's up for re-election in November...and he's looking more and more like a long shot as the days go by. You see, at the beginning of this month,
Brett Pfeffer, a former aide to Jefferson, was sentenced to eight years in prison on two bribery-related charges stemming from their dealings with iGate, Inc., a Louisville high-tech company that was marketing broadband technology in Nigeria, Ghana annd Cameroon. Vernon L. Jackson, the owner of iGate, has also pleaded guilty to attempting to bribe the congressman. Federal court documents allege that Jefferson, his wife and other relatives have taken
more than $500,000 in various bribe schemes. There is also an FBI voice recording of his deal with Jackson and an FBI videotape of him accepting $100,000 in cash, although he has yet to be charged with anything. A search of his house by the FBI turned up $90,000 in his freezer. (Cold cash?) Despite all of this he has denied any wrongdoing.
If he's been a bad boy, I would certainly hope he's summarily found guilty in a court of law and punished appropriately. That's not the point. My focus here is much less about the alleged misbehavior of one inconsequential Congress critter than it is about the firestorm which has erupted in the aftermath. Jefferson, you see, claims he intends to run in the mid-terms...which complicates EVERYTHING.
It says here that you are innocent until you are proven guilty in America. While that lofty precept may be true from a legal standpoint, our corporate media can roast ANYONE to a golden brown over the fires of public opinion should they care to do so. With this in mind, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has called for an Ethics Committee investigation, to which they agreed...and then she requested Jefferson's resignation. Please note that this is the precisely correct course of action, particularly if Democrats intend to make the Conservative Culture of Corruption a major part of their campaign platforms in November.
But here's where it gets a trifle sticky.
William Jefferson is a Black man and a member of the Congressional Black Cacus. The Caucus has taken offense at Pelosi's letter to him, muttering treacherous hints of bias and racism. Sorry, CBC members, but this is NOT about bigotry here...and the sooner you realize it, the better off you--and the Democratic Party as a whole--is going to be. Got that? This is about the party of JFK holding themselves to a higher standard than the greedy, groveling GOoPers. It's about doing the right thing in a town which considers that to be an irrational act. And if Jefferson is, indeed, innocent--which I FERVENTLY hope he is, by the way!--then he will be exonerated at the proper time. Right this instant, it is imperative that the Dems not even give off the slightest whiff of impropriety; conservative media don't need much of an opening, right? It is imperative we keep in mind that this is neither a racial issue nor a partisan issue: It is an ETHICS issue and a question, first and foremost, of not abusing the tenuous public trust. Can anything be clearer than that??
Meanwhile, the FBI executed a raid on Jefferson's offices just a week ago that seems to have been the equivalent of ramming a crooked stick into a hornets' nest and giving the thing a vigorous stir. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Tool) immediately freaked out and began hyper-ventilating about how this was a violation of the constitutional separation of powers between Executive and Legislative branches. He even talked nancy Pelosi into joining him. Of course, our Oval Office ignoramus has been wiping his feet on our Constitution for nigh on to six years now and Speaker Hastert has uttered nary a peep.
Now, however, he finds HIMSELF in the crosshairs. (I'll have more to say about THAT delightful development very shortly! Stay tuned...) When it was your civil liberties and mine on the chopping block, he could scarcely be bothered...now, however, it should be apparent to anyone paying an iota of attention that his reaction consists less of outrage than it does of fear that his own office may be targeted for an unscheduled visit by the FBI. Fat Boy has a whole lot to hide, but, at this late date, it is disingenuous--at the very least!--for this complicit Congress to begin talking about damage to the Legislative branch. With the Jack Abramoff investigation looming larger than ever, all they're worried about is keeping their own dirty laundry in the hamper and away from prying eyes.
In order to calm things down, the White House has taken the unusual step of ordering the seized documernts sealed for 45 days. This gives Republican handlers and puppeteers time to cut some sort of deal with Hastert--who has, after all, been a loyal flunky up until now--and keep the situation under control. They'll throw him a bone and he'll curl up by the fire and go right back to sleep.
The most surprising aspect of all this to my mind, however, was yesterday's revelation in the co-opted New York Times that Attorney General Abu Gonzalez--whose grandparents, apparently, arrived in this country illegally all those years ago--was prepared to quit rather than turn the papers confiscated from Jefferson's offices over to Congress. Quite the brouhaha. (Ha-ha-ha.) I mean, what is THAT deal?? We're being told so little and in such disparate segments that it is almost impossible to guage what is actually happening.
I'm willing to bet a shiny new nickle that we haven't heard the last of THIS one...
Cross-posted at Conceptual Guerilla's Strategy & Tactics. Please stop by and say hello...