William J. Jefferson (D-LA) is an ninth-term member of Congress, representing the second district of Louisiana. Rep. Jefferson’s ethics issues stem from his business dealings and from the misuse of federal resources. Rep. Jefferson was included in CREW’s 2006 report on congressional corruption.
Federal Indictment
On June 4, 2007, Rep. Jefferson was indicted on 16 criminal counts, including two counts of conspiracy to solicit bribes, two counts of solicitation of bribes by a public official, six counts of honest services fraud by wire, one count of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, three counts of money laundering, one count of obstruction of justice and one count of racketeering. The indictment stems from multiple instances in which Rep. Jefferson agreed to perform official acts for 11 different companies in return for bribes payable to him and his family members. The indictment was the culmination of a criminal investigation that began in approximately March 2005.
The 94-page indictment outlines in considerable detail multiple bribery schemes in which Rep. Jefferson participated. These include bribes that Rep. Jefferson sought in the form of cash payments, stock, and a percentage of revenues from iGate, a telecommunications firm in Louisville, Kentucky, that were paid to ANJ, a Jefferson family-controlled company. In addition, Rep. Jefferson used his congressional staff to plan trips to Africa for the purpose of promoting iGate’s business ventures and used congressional letterhead for similar purposes. In addition, Rep. Jefferson offered a bribe to a Nigerian official in Potomac, Maryland, in exchange for using his position to benefit a Nigerian joint venture. Rep. Jefferson placed $90,000 of the $100,000 intended as the front-end bribe to the Nigerian official in the freezer of his Washington, D.C. home, separated into $10,000 increments. This money was later recovered by FBI agents during a raid of Rep. Jefferson’s residence.
In addition to violating federal law, Rep. Jefferson’s conduct does not reflect creditably on the House.
Use of the National Guard to Visit Home and Retrieve Property
Five days after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, on September 2, 2005, Rep. Jefferson allegedly used National Guard troops to check in on his home and collect a few belongings – a laptop computer, three suitcases and a large box. By using the National Guard to visit his home and retrieve property -- at a time when the citizens of New Orleans had no such similar opportunities -- Rep. Jefferson appears to have violated House rules, engaging in conduct that does not reflect credibly on the House.
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