Why wasn't Congressman William J. Jefferson arrested a year

[babylonsister]

ago when that cash was found? Has this been answered to anyone's satisfaction?

[blm]

1. We know the answer - Save it till GOP crimes heat up then hype up Dem

scandal to provide media their BOTH SIDES ARE EQUALLY CORRUPT storyline for the election cycle.

[babylonsister]

5. But if they know someone is guilty of something, how can they 'save

it' for future reference? Even now; why hasn't this guy been arrested?

[blm]

8. Uh - look who's in charge of law enforcemnet in this country - political

hacks and campaign strategists.

[TomInTib]

2. Really? A year ago?

I just woke up.

Did this come up this morning?

Thanks

[babylonsister]

4. The money was found last August, so almost a year ago:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/22/washington/22jefferson.html

snip//

The F.B.I. said that $90,000 of that money was found in a raid on Mr. Jefferson's Washington home last August, divided into $10,000 increments and placed in "various frozen food containers and wrapped in aluminum foil." The court documents said the money was intended to pay a middleman — his name is blacked out in the court papers — who might help Mr. Jefferson secure contracts in Nigeria, an oil-rich nation plagued by government corruption.

snip//

[TomInTib]

11. Thanks, I missed that one.

And I read the Times cover-to-cover.

[durrrty libby]

6. I don’t get it either.

Is he arrogant, stupid , or completely set-up?

He and his lawyer have been ignoring FBI requests for documents for more than 8 months?

It appears as though he should have stepped down a long time ago.

I’m trying to withhold judgment, but this guy is looking like a pathetic loser.

[Norquist Nemesis]

3. Or even when they taped the 'informant' handing the cash over

It was video evidence at that point with backup testimony by the informant. Who is this informant, anyway? A well-connected lobbyist or something?

The whole thing seemed strange and Gonzalez going before the cameras with a statement just makes it stink like something's not right. Not sure what it is, but the redalerts are going off.

[TomInTib]

9. Trial by TV

re: Ashcroft announcing the arrest of Jose Padilla

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. Because he was probably framed.

This thing looks at least like entrapment and probably a setup.

[babylonsister]

10. That would explain it, but isn't the FBI, by raiding his office,

digging a deeper hole for themselves? The fact he hasn't been arrested and hasn't resigned surely raises many questions.

[The_Casual_Observer]

15. As the dead sang "If you got a warrant I guess your gonna come in"

It doesn't look good for Jefferson, but like anybody else, he deserves his day in court. Trial by press leaks just isn't right, no matter who is being accused.

[Lerkfish]

13. certainly has that odor.

[RebelDawg]

14. Tricking him to leave $90k

in his freezer was a hell of a frame job. As to the original ? of the thread - they had to wait for some Repug corruption stories to surface first.

[The_Casual_Observer]

16. Jeez, I hope you never end up on my jury.

Get out the pitch forks and torches, hang em' high. Shit, there hasn't even been a hearing yet.

[newyawker99]

18. Hi RebelDawg!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[primative1]

12. One Bizzare Story ..

Can Hardly Wait for the punchline ...

[leftstreet]

17. And why didn't Pelosi ask him to step down in January?

When one of his former aides admitted to bribing him?

:shrug:

Since January, Brett M. Pfeffer, a former Jefferson aide who worked for Mody, and Vernon L. Jackson, the owner of iGate Inc., have pleaded to guilty to bribing the eight-term congressman to promote iGate's broadband technology -- including Internet and cable television -- in Africa.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/21/AR2006052100167_pf.html

Now all of sudden Pelosi wants him out of his Ways and Means position?
There's something wrong with this story.

[Hippo_Tron]

19. Katrina

The storm bought Jefferson some time. Apparently not enough time, though.