Delay Indicted

[truckboy]

I figured Slider or Trailbait would have posted this by now,
maybe I missed it.


A Texas grand jury today charged Rep. Tom DeLay and two political
associates with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme.....

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/09/28/delay.investigation.ap/index.html

[Rych]

I figured Slider or Trailbait would have posted this by now,
maybe I missed it.


A Texas grand jury today charged Rep. Tom DeLay and two political
associates with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme.....

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/09/28/delay.investigation.ap/index.html


I thought the same thing as I saw you started this thread...lol.

[Mr_Cheeze]

They both likely were just biding their time to use the info to their advantage in the debate of the day. Just more proof of those evil Republicans. They'll be disappointed that someone beat them to it.

I'm surprised they didn't get to this first as well. 13 Most Corrupt in Congress (http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&rls=GGLD%2CGGLD%3A2005-02%2CGGLD%3Aen&tab=wn&ie=UTF-8&q=13+most+corrupt+congress&btnG=Search+News) It seems 12 of the 13 are Republicans. This is like masturbatory material for Slider.

[Mr_Cheeze]

"I have done nothing wrong ... I am innocent," DeLay told a Capitol Hill news conference in which he criticized the Texas prosecutor, Ronnie Earle, repeatedly. DeLay called Earle a "unabashed partisan zealot," and "fanatic," and described the charges as "one of the weakest and most baseless indictments in American history."



Funny... sorta reminds me of wha the Clinton's and the Democrats said about one Ken Starr about 8 years ago. What goes around comes around, I guess.

[TrailBate]

Actually, I had this on the "reasons to hate Bush" thread.


You guys misunderestimate me.

[TrailBate]

This won't help him, either.


http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/09/27/florida.murder.ap/index.html

[catbbq]

This is another one of those stupid laws. Corporations should be able to do with their money as they please.

And the articles I heard on NPR were very unclear as to how Delay is associated to this "incident". And there seems to be a pretty big question as to whether or not a crime has actually been commited. I mean, its not like he lied to a grand jury or something.

[TrailBate]

Grand juries do not hand out indictments because they think "nobody actually broke a stupid law."

But yeah, you're right. It's not as if he had sex with somebody. ::)

[catbbq]

Since I listen to the radio, I don't see people often, but I clicked on the cnn link. That Delay is one ugly man.

I suspect the only way he could have sex with someone is by paying them. That's against the law in Texas. Another stupid law.

[Mr_Cheeze]

From what I have read, the conspiracy charge is basically a last resort and very tough to prove. Jurisdictional issues prevented Earle from charging him with tougher penalties. But we all know that **** rolls downhill, these veteran politicians know what they are doing... usually, and campaign aides are likely going to take the fall. Delay will probably get off, and you guys will be singing another sour tune.

[Slider]

I was at a trade show, doing my part to generate taxes so we can pay for Republican corruption. ;D

Besides, I posted on the DeLay thing months ago. The grand jury's indictment does mean that Congress can't ignore it any more. After the obvious public dissaproval of the previous attempted rule change to protect the slimeball, DeLay might have some trouble mounting support. He does own a lot of equally morally challenged pols, though. Should be interesting to watch them waffle while distancing themselves, while publically mouthing support.

So, lessee. We got a special prosecutor looking at treason by both Rove and Cheney, the Senate majority leader under investigation for illegal stock trading, and now the house majority leader under indictment for conspiracy. This is one fine bunch of Americans, I must say.

Too bad they didn't just get blowjobs.

Slider

[TrailBate]

I watched channel 7's world nightly news last night. (I dont' know the name or the anchorman)

Stories, in order:

1. DeLay
2. Frist
3. FEMA's Katrina screwups and $$$$
4. Some general saying we wont' be able to withdraw from Iraq as soon as he'd hoped. And fears the Iraq constitution will be voted down, extending America's presence.
5. Some highly decorated Army Iraq vet coming out with abuse and torture allegations.


All republican screwups. This country has NO leadership.

[kernel crash]

"I watched channel 7's world nightly news last night."

That's a pretty lame conclusion on your part if your basing it on what the news led off with last night. There are dozens of stories that could have been substituted for the ones you mentioned. What was your quote about sheep?

[TrailBate]

"I watched channel 7's world nightly news last night."

That's a pretty lame conclusion on your part if your basing it on what the news led off with last night. There are dozens of stories that could have been substituted for the ones you mentioned. What was your quote about sheep?




ah, So you are saying NBC picked those stories only because they show Republicans looking bad?

[Mr_Cheeze]

I watched channel 7's world nightly news last night. (I dont' know the name or the anchorman)

Stories, in order:

1. DeLay
2. Frist
3. FEMA's Katrina screwups and $$$$
4. Some general saying we wont' be able to withdraw from Iraq as soon as he'd hoped. And fears the Iraq constitution will be voted down, extending America's presence.
5. Some highly decorated Army Iraq vet coming out with abuse and torture allegations.


All republican screwups. This country has NO leadership.


Of course there are all of these Republican screwups... there aren't any Democrats in any key positions anywhere! (necessary cheap shot) I'm sure your guys will all have their chances to screw up one of these days. In the meantime, I guess you'll have to make due with the likes of Diane Wilkenson.

[GeepNutt]

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/134mpbij.asp

Well here's one.....

[Slider]

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/134mpbij.asp

Well here's one.....


Okay, let's order these by magnitute of offense:

1. $200 billion spent on fraudulent war
2. Treason
3. Conspiracy
4. Insider trading
5. Inept disaster management
5. Running a fraudulent credit report

Oh, wait, let's include also:

6. A blowjob

Your turn, any order you think makes sense.

Slider

[GeepNutt]

Is it breaking the law or isn't it?

Don't give me this crap about the magnitude of the offense.

[TrailBate]

I'd put the 2,000 dead American soldiers of a fraudulent war as #1. But Bush-bots don't care about dead americans.

[Slider]

Is it breaking the law or isn't it?

Don't give me this crap about the magnitude of the offense.

Magnitude is irrelevant? $200 billion/2K deaths = a fraudulent credit report?

Let me guess - you voted Bush last time around.

Slider

[kernel crash]

"So you are saying NBC picked those stories only because they show Republicans looking bad?"

What if I took your original post about the news stories and substituted Foxnews for Chan 7. Then I substituted a bunch of feel good stories for the ones you mentioned. Hmmm. What do you suppose your response might have been.

My point is that the mainstream media is in a position to dictate to the average American, who only get their news from such shows, their view of what the hot stories are, and in turn affect the consiousness of those viewers who will clearly form their opinions based on those reports. This is nothing new. And anybody with half a brain should clearly realize by now that the mainstream press has been going out of their way for years now to show this administration in the worst possible light.

[truckboy]

Is it breaking the law or isn't it?

Don't give me this crap about the magnitude of the offense.


Actually, I don't think it is against the law to cheat on your wife, or get a blowjob in the oval office as long as it's with a consenting adult. I'm not sure, but I don't think either is illegal.

[GeepNutt]

So why isn't Bush on trial for a "fraudulent war" and "treason"? Because most of Congress supported him?

Conspiracy is right next to Tax Evasion on the govenments list of "How do we get 'em when we ain't got anything on 'em".

Insider trading charges, if any are brought, will disappear when he pays the fine instead of pulling a Martha and telling the SEC to f' off.
What you democrats would call an oversight.

Last I looked in my criminal law books Inept Disaster Management was not a crime.

And it wasn't the BJ that got Clinton in trouble, it was Perjury.....

[Slider]

So why isn't Bush on trial for a "fraudulent war" and "treason"? Because most of Congress supported him?

There's an independent investigation currently considering charges against those responsible for the Plame leak, both staffers high up in the President's and VP's offices. We're awaiting the other shoe now.

Regarding Congress and Bush - you're right. They don't have the balls to pull the trigger, since many of those dirty republicans owe their seats to DeLay, Rove and their fellow slime.

Despite the Republican majority in the Senate while the Clinton vendetta was ongoing, he was not found guilty of anything.


Conspiracy is right next to Tax Evasion on the govenments list of "How do we get 'em when we ain't got anything on 'em".

This was a Grand Jury, not a vengeful prosecutor. People, like you and me, who heard the evidence and said it was strong enough to indict. And that despite the clever sliminess of DeLay, and his attempts to insulate himself. This is more than a smoke/fire thing, and it would have died long ago if there was nothing to it.


Insider trading charges, if any are brought, will disappear when he pays the fine instead of pulling a Martha and telling the SEC to f' off. What you democrats would call an oversight.


Martha was not found guilty of insider trading, but of attempting to cover it up. Frist's investigation involves lots more money, and obvious insider moves. He's saying now: I was bailing to comply with conflict if interest implications. And you're telling me you believe that, or, more importantly, the public will?


Last I looked in my criminal law books Inept Disaster Management was not a crime.

Neither is consensual sex. But that didn't stop the Senate. It was the public that gave Clinton an immense 68% approval rating that stopped their witch hunt.


And it wasn't the BJ that got Clinton in trouble, it was Perjury.....

And then the Senate ruled that it was not a serious transgression at all. I'll point back to that 68% approval when Clinton left office.

Slider

[GeepNutt]

[quote author=Slider


This was a Grand Jury, not a vengeful prosecutor. People, like you and me, who heard the evidence and said it was strong enough to indict. And that despite the clever sliminess of DeLay, and his attempts to insulate himself. This is more than a smoke/fire thing, and it would have died long ago if there was nothing to it.



That is because the Grand Jury is an Acusitory Body. All they hear is evidence from the prosecution. Conspiracy is the catch all "crime" which they use when they don't really have anything else. Most Grand Jury's will hand down some kind of indictment and let them fight it out in the courts.

[catbbq]

And Cliton wasn't impeached for getting a blow job. He lied about it. Just like Martha, only she went to jail. Cliton gets a library.

[Slider]

And Cliton wasn't impeached for getting a blow job. He lied about it. Just like Martha, only she went to jail. Cliton gets a library.


If someone, anyone, says to you: "Ever get a blowjob from someone other that your wife?"
what would you say?

If that someone happened to be a bunch of vengeful Republicans out to end your presidency, what would you say then?

But most of all, I am wondering what you would say if, as a Republican senator, you abandoned the attempt to bring the man down, because the public was overwhelmingly against it. "I'm sorry," perhaps?

Slider

[TrailBate]

Last I looked in my criminal law books Inept Disaster Management was not a crime.






How about criminal negligence? manslaughter? could be a hate crime.

[TrailBate]

And Cliton wasn't impeached for getting a blow job. He lied about it. Just like Martha, only she went to jail. Cliton gets a library.


If someone, anyone, says to you: "Ever get a blowjob from someone other that your wife?"
what would you say?

If that someone happened to be a bunch of vengeful Republicans out to end your presidency, what would you say then?

But most of all, I am wondering what you would say if, as a Republican senator, you abandoned the attempt to bring the man down, because the public was overwhelmingly against it. "I'm sorry," perhaps?

Slider


I wish Clinton had just had the balls to say "none of your business." and let it at that. Why was he even put under oath to answer that question?

Let's put Bush under oath and ask him a few questions. We'll have him impeached before lunch.

[Slider]

[quote author=Slider
That is because the Grand Jury is an Acusitory Body. All they hear is evidence from the prosecution. Conspiracy is the catch all "crime" which they use when they don't really have anything else. Most Grand Jury's will hand down some kind of indictment and let them fight it out in the courts.


This is true, and they have a high indictment rate, but did you read any of the evidence that was reported in the press? You think he's innocent?

Slider

[GeepNutt]

Last I looked in my criminal law books Inept Disaster Management was not a crime.






How about criminal negligence? manslaughter? could be a hate crime.


Keep twisting baby!! Keep twisting!!

[GeepNutt]

[quote author=Slider
That is because the Grand Jury is an Acusitory Body. All they hear is evidence from the prosecution. Conspiracy is the catch all "crime" which they use when they don't really have anything else. Most Grand Jury's will hand down some kind of indictment and let them fight it out in the courts.


This is true, and they have a high indictment rate, but did you read any of the evidence that was reported in the press? You think he's innocent?

Slider


All I'm saying is that after weeks of Grand Jury testimony the best the prosecution could come out with was Conspiracy.....

Conspiracy is perhaps the toughest charge to ever convict on. He'll get off faster than Michael Jackson at a Chucky Cheeses.....

[truckboy]

The mainstream media has been feeding on Bush because he gives them plenty of material.

They covered plenty of Clinton crap. The difference is Clinton tried to fix health Care right off the bat and Bush gave a tax break to the richest 2% of the country, and his disregard for the average Joe continues.

You guys have your loyalties back-asswards, you really do.

[Slider]

He also collects rebukes, reprimands and censures like trading cards. Someday something will stick. I mean, just how dirty can you be these days before your consituents see that you are benefitting yourself, and not them?

Slider

[GeepNutt]

Last I looked in my criminal law books Inept Disaster Management was not a crime.






How about criminal negligence? manslaughter? could be a hate crime.


More media bias?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/29/national/nationalspecial/29crime.html?ei=5090&en=1ba20914f5888e10&ex=128564 6400&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx= 1127998837-dUb23oxvthQ0MrMgl9neEg&pagewanted=print

[TrailBate]

Last I looked in my criminal law books Inept Disaster Management was not a crime.






How about criminal negligence? manslaughter? could be a hate crime.


More media bias?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/29/national/nationalspecial/29crime.html?ei=5090&en=1ba20914f5888e10&ex=128564 6400&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx= 1127998837-dUb23oxvthQ0MrMgl9neEg&pagewanted=print


How so? Was the media reporting what supposed witnesses were telling them? Did we not actually see videos of looting?

[kernel crash]

From what I've seen of the charges against Delay, if I'm a betting man, he gets off. I heard a reporter break it all down this morning on the way to work and it sounds like they covered all the bases in the way they distributed that money. Now maybe the grand jury has something else we haven't seen yet.

[TrailBate]

Which reporter? Rush Limbaugh?

Did your reporter also mentioned that Sears, Cracker Barrel, Bacardi, among others may have struck immunity deals to cooperate in the investigation?

[Slider]

By "Covered all the bases" I assumed kernel crash meant "Made sure to hide his tracks," which would most likely be true. Maybe I read too much into that.

Slider

[kernel crash]

Maybe covered their tracks is more appropriate than hide.

The reference I was making is that the money that came in from "corporate" donors, was only distributed to states that allowed pac money from corporations. So like I said, maybe there's more than what I've seen at this point.

And no I don't think Rush is on at 7:30 in the morning. At that time I'm too busy listening to Air America.

[TrailBate]

Early Sedition? I dont' like them too much.

Randi Rhodes is much better. 9am-12

[kernel crash]

Actually I was kidding about Air America. I wouldn't know where to find them. Are they still on the air? I usually listen to D & C at that time. I like the off beat news stories they find.

[TrailBate]

Yeah, I figured you weren't serious.

[Mr_Cheeze]

So thats what happened to Randi Rhodes. I guess royalties from Ozzie's albums aren't cutting it.

There is only one morning radio show. There is Howard Stern and then the rest. I don't know how anyone can listen to D&C and their transparently contrived opposing stances on issues. Shiat.

[kernel crash]

"I don't know how anyone can listen to D&C and their transparently contrived opposing stances on issues."

Really! And how would you know that? Meanwhile Stern is just doing the same stuff he did 10 years ago. I used to tune in to see what he would say next, and then I realized I already heard it!

[Mr_Cheeze]

I know that because I have listened from time to time. Like during Best of Stern shows... or during a boring segment. Callahan is almost as bad a Republican shill as Hannity. The nice thing about Stern is that you know what you are getting... good comedy. And I, for one, enjoy a good laugh in the morning. One can never get enough Beetlejuice, baby.

[kernel crash]

Yes but at least you know where he stands and he's consistent. But I was making reference to the off beat news clips that they find from time to time.

[Slider]

Now were talking money laundering. This was the charge they were originally floating several months ago. It sure seems like that is what was going on, when you move cash through accounts to hide the trail.

And this do-over thing - we bikers do that all the time.

Slider

DeLay faces money laundering charge
Former majority leader calls indictment 'abomination of justice'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Texas grand jury brought a charge of money laundering Monday against Rep. Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader indicted last week on conspiracy charges stemming from a campaign finance probe.

DeLay and two associates are now also charged with conspiring to illegally steer $190,000 in corporate donations to state legislative candidates in 2002 and to disguise its source by sending it through national Republican campaign committees.

In a written statement, the congressman called the indictment another example of "prosecutorial abuse" by District Attorney Ronnie Earle. (See video on DeLay's legal troubles -- 2:16)

"He is trying to pull the legal equivalent of a 'do-over,' since he knows very well that the charges he brought against me last week are totally manufactured and illegitimate," said the Texas Republican. "This is an abomination of justice."

DeLay's lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, said the new indictment came as a result of a motion he filed to dismiss the conspiracy charge brought Wednesday. DeGuerin argued that the state's conspiracy statute did not apply to the stateelection code.

"Faced with the fact that the indictment he returned against Mr. DeLay last week does not even state a crime, he went back before a grand jury -- who, by the way, was only empaneled today at noon -- and got this new indictment," he said.

He said DeLay, a 20-year veteran of Congress, is "ready for the fight." But he said Monday's developments indicate that process will take time.

"I thought that this would be resolved quickly, and Congressman DeLay can get back to Washington and resume his post," DeGuerin said. "But obviously, the game here is to keep Congressman DeLay out of his leadership post in the Congress."

DeLay, 58, has represented a suburban Houston district in Congress since 1985. In 2002, he became House majority leader -- a post he held until Wednesday's charge.

The rules of the GOP conference call for members to give up leadership posts if they are indicted-- a requirement DeLay's allies reversed last year, only to restore it after a storm of criticism.

House Republicans selected Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri as their acting leader, with Reps. Eric Cantor of Virginia and David Dreier of California also taking on additional duties.

DeLay has accused Earle, a Democrat, of launching a partisan vendetta against him after the 2002 elections, which saw Republicans take control of both houses of the Texas legislature.

Lawmakers then passed a hotly contested, DeLay-engineered plan to redraw Texas' congressional districts, which resulted in the GOP picking up House seats in redrawn districts in 2004.

Earle denied a political motive, saying 12 of the 15 officials he has prosecuted on corruption charges have been Democrats.

The Travis County grand jury indicted DeLay and the same two associates, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, on conspiracy charges stemming from the same allegations last week.

Prosecutors say the three men agreed to violate campaign finance laws by sending corporate donations given a state political action committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, to the national Republican Party.

The national GOP in turn is alleged to have distributed the same amount of funds to Republican legislative candidates in Texas.

Corporations cannot donate to candidates in Texas elections.

DeGuerin said last week that the donations to TRMPAC went to states where corporate money could be lawfully donated, and the money that was sent to Texas candidates came from individuals.

"No corporate money came to any candidate in Texas," he said.

DeGuerin said Monday he still believes a judge will dismiss the charges against his client -- "but if we go to trial, I'm confident that a fair jury will say Tom DeLay did not do anything wrong."

Money laundering is punishable by five years to life in prison under Texas law, with fines up to $10,000. The conspiracy charge carried a penalty of up to two years in prison and fines up to $10,000.

DeLaysaid Sunday he thinks he will return to his leadership post after the case is resolved.

"I think it will be over and be over very, very soon. And I think I will go back to be majority leader," he told "Fox News Sunday." "I'm still a member of Congress. I'm going to be working on the agenda and doing everything I can to make good things happen."

Nicknamed "The Hammer" during his tenure as GOP whip, DeLay was admonished by the House ethics committee three times in 2004 over separate issues.

Rep. Christopher Shays has been calling for DeLay's resignation.

On CNN's "Late Edition" Sunday, the Connecticut Republican reiterated that call, citing "continual acts that border and go sometimes beyond the ethical edge."

[TrailBate]

according to DeLay, they only came back with the money laundering charge because his lawyers were about to get the conspiracy charge thrown out. Evidently, the way Delay did it, was perfectly legal.....

we'll see....

[GeepNutt]

http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/stories/10/5earle.html

[Slider]

Imagine - a Democrat playing power politics. And all along we thought only Rove, DeLay and their ilk did that sort of thing. There's hope for the party yet!

Slider

[Rych]

What no thread for this guy?


Filing: Tape Shows Lawmaker Taking Money
May 21 4:35 PM US/Eastern
Email this story

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press Writer

ALEXANDRIA, Va.

A congressman under investigation for bribery was caught on videotape accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from an FBI informant whose conversations with the lawmaker also were recorded, according to a court document released Sunday. Agents later found the cash hidden in his freezer.

At one audiotaped meeting, Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., chuckles about writing in code to keep secret what the government contends was his corrupt role in getting his children a cut of a communications company's deal for work in Africa.

As Jefferson and the informant passed notes about what percentage the lawmaker's family might receive, the congressman "began laughing and said, 'All these damn notes we're writing to each other as if we're talking, as if the FBI is watching,'" according to the affidavit.

Jefferson, who represents New Orleans, has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.

As for the $100,000, the government says Jefferson got the money in a leather briefcase last July 30 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Arlington. The plan was for the lawmaker to use the cash to bribe a high-ranking Nigerian official _ the name is blacked out in the court document _ to ensure the success of a business deal in that country, the affidavit said.

All but $10,000 was recovered on Aug. 3 when the FBI searched Jefferson's home in Washington. The money was stuffed in his freezer, wrapped in $10,000 packs and concealed in food containers and aluminum foil.

Two of Jefferson's associates have pleaded guilty to bribery-related charges in federal court in Alexandria. One, businessman Vernon Jackson of Louisville, Ky., admitted paying more than $400,000 in bribes to the lawmaker in exchange for his help securing business deals for Jackson's telecommunications company in Nigeria and other African countries.

The new details about the case emerged after federal agents searched Jefferson's congressional office on Capitol Hill Saturday night and Sunday. The nearly 100-page affidavit for a search warrant, made public Sunday with large portions blacked out, spells out much of the evidence so far.

The document includes excerpts of conversations between Jefferson and an unidentified business executive from northern Virginia. She agreed to wear a wire after she approached the FBI with complaints that Jefferson and an associate had ripped her off in a business deal.

Jefferson's lawyer, Robert Trout, contended that the prosecutors' disclosure was "part of a public relations agenda and an attempt to embarrass Congressman Jefferson. The affidavit itself is just one side of the story which has not been tested in court," Trout said in a statement.

The affidavit says Jefferson is caught on videotape at the Ritz- Carlton as he takes a reddish-brown briefcase from the trunk of the informant's car, slips it into a cloth bag, puts the bag into his 1990 Lincoln Town Car and drives away.

The $100 bills in the suitcase had the same serial numbers as those found in Jefferson's freezer.

While the name of the intended recipient of the $100,000 is blacked out, other details in the affidavit indicate he is Abubakar Atiku, Nigeria's vice president. He owns a home in Potomac, Md., that authorities have searched as part of the Jefferson investigation.

Jefferson assured the FBI informant in their coded conversations that he paid the money to the Nigerian official, even though the money was still in Jefferson's possession when agents searched his home Aug. 3.

On Aug. 1, two days after Jefferson picked up the $100,000, the informant called Jefferson to ask about the status of "the package."

Jefferson responded: "I gave him the African art that you gave me and he was very pleased."

When Jefferson and the informant had dinner at a Washington restaurant on May 12, 2005, the FBI was listening, too. Jefferson indicates he will need an increased stake in the profits of one deal, the affidavit said. Instead of the 7 percent stake originally agreed upon, he writes "18-20" on a piece of paper and passes it to the informant.

That is when negotiations move ahead and notes go back and forth, ending with Jefferson's laughter about the FBI watching it all.

Throughout the conversations, Jefferson makes attempts to deflect direct connections to any bribes.

He tells the informant at one point that money should be paid to businesses operated by his children. "I make a deal for my children. It wouldn't be me," Jefferson said, according to the affidavit.

In a different conversation, Jefferson seeks to distance himself from bribes that must be paid to Nigerian government officials to facilitate transactions.

"If he's gotta pay Minister X, we don't want to know. It's not our deal," Jefferson told the witness, according to the affidavit. "We're not paying Minister X a damn thing. That's all, you know, international fraud crap. We're not doing that. We're not doing any of that that gets us (unintelligible)."

The affidavit also spells out "seven other schemes" in which Jefferson was involved; nearly all were blacked out in the document.

The Jefferson investigation has provided fodder for Republicans who have suffered black eyes in the investigations of current and former GOP lawmakers, including Tom DeLay and Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

Jefferson, who has pledged not to resign from Congress in the face of the bribery investigation, speculated about his political future in one of the recorded conversations.

When the informant asked Jefferson about his political plans, he responded: "I'm gonna get your deal out of the way ... and I probably won't last long after that."

[TrailBate]

He should be punished to the maximum extent of the law. I don't think you'll see anyone argue against that.

[Rych]

what is wrong with pols whose name include William Jefferson? My point is the media bias will not push this congressman to the front pages as has been done to Delay.

[Slider]

It won't have the legs because he has none of the power or influence that DeLay had. DeLay was the majority leader, after all. And a single charge of accepting a bribe has a fraction of the ramifications that DeLay's money laundering had.

But all the major news outlest had front page stories on the case. What more would you want?

Slider

[TrailBate]

the Kennedy drug-driving accident was all over the news, and so was the black democratic senator that pushed a security guard.

I've heard almost nothing about the 6 republican congressman tied to Cunningham, who may have had hookers provided to them by lobbyists.

but dont' worry. I'm sure Faux news will be all over the Jefferson story, since they are "watching out for you."

[Slider]

Couldn't let this pass without notice. DeLay got drummed out of the House yesterday. And none too soon.

Arrogant to the end, he actually tried to blame his indictmment on party politics. I guess some sleazeball Democrat actually DID the money laundering.

Slider

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/09/delay.farewell/index.html

[kernel crash]

Opps. wrong thread