FBI Sting Targeted La. Lawmaker("They can throw ethics back in our face.")

[DeepModem Mom]

WP, pg1:
FBI Sting Targeted Louisiana Lawmaker
By Allan Lengel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 13, 2005; Page A01


Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.), a veteran member of the Ways and Means Committee whose homes in Washington and New Orleans were raided by the FBI last week, had been the target of an undercover FBI sting involving public corruption for nearly a year, according to law enforcement sources.

Investigators are looking into whether Jefferson illegally pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars of an investor's money from business transactions during the sting, according to the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case....

***

It is extremely rare that the FBI targets a congressman in a sting, former and current law enforcement authorities said. They said the last such case of note they remembered was the 1978 Abscam case, an FBI undercover sting that resulted in the conviction of six representatives and a senator. FBI agents, who posed as Arab sheiks and associates, offered the politicians money in exchange for favors, raising complaints of entrapment....

***

Jefferson is well known to Washington lobbyists because of his seat on the Ways and Means Committee and his business-friendly views, but he is not a national figure. Operatives in both parties, however, said the investigation could have implications for next year's midterm elections because it could complicate Democratic efforts to paint the GOP as scandal-plagued....

***

"This gives Republicans more fodder to muddy the water," said a Democratic leadership aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Now, they can throw ethics back in our face."...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/12/AR2005081201678.html

[Up2Late]

1. What, is this guy thinking about running for President in 2008?

This sounds like a "divert attention from Tom "The Hammer" Delay's legal troubles" tactic.:mad:

[bribri16]

2. He's just another one of the sourthern DINOs. He should switch parties

and be with the corrupt company he deserves.