William (Frozen Assets) Jefferson Pleads Not Guilty To Bribery
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Rep. William Jefferson pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of soliciting more than $500,000 in bribes while using his office to broker business deals in Africa.
Jefferson, D-La., said he understood the charges during the federal court hearing. He was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.
"I am absolutely innocent of the charges that have been leveled against me," Jefferson said afterward. "I'm going to fight my heart out to clear my name."
As conditions for his release, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III denied the congressman access to shotguns and rifles in his Louisiana home. Jefferson said the guns were used for hunting.
Ellis also ordered Jefferson to surrender his passport.
Jefferson, 60, will be allowed to travel in the Washington area and in Louisiana, but he will need approval for any other domestic or international travel, the judge said.
A 94-page indictment, handed down Monday, details 11 separate bribery schemes and 16 criminal counts, including racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.
If convicted, Jefferson faces a possible maximum sentence of 235 years. His trial is scheduled for January.
Robert Trout, Jefferson's lawyer, said the complexity of the case required Jefferson to waive his right to a speedy trial.
"This has been investigated for two years," Trout said.
The charges came almost two years after investigators raided Jefferson's home in Washington and found $90,000 in cash stuffed in a box in his freezer.
During Friday's hearing, prosecutor Mark Lytle said the government had compiled evidence filling eight file cabinets and had extensive tape recordings. The prosecution's case could take up to a month to present, he said.
Jefferson was re-elected last year. After his indictment, he resigned from the House Small Business Committee while maintaining his innocence.
On Thursday, a federal judge froze Jefferson's assets and the House ethics committee voted to expand its own investigation of Jefferson to include any subject in the 16-count corruption indictment.
Jefferson is the first U.S. official to face charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits corporate bribery overseas.
Story Here
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Where is Jefferson's Mugshot? The left was so pleased to throw Tom Delay's Mugshot out there, where's Jeffersons? And why is he still a Congressman? Why hasnt Jefferson stepped down like Tom Delay did? Nancy Pelosi want's to put Jefferson on the "Homeland Security Committee"!!! I dont think so!! WILLIAM JEFFERSON MUST STEP DOWN. The Democrat Culture of Corruption continues on and on...
Labels: Democrat Corruption, William (Frozen Assets) Jefferson
posted by Marie's Two Cents | 12:45 PM
14 Comments:
By the way if anyone has William Jefferson's Mugshot drop me a line a link or a post :-)
Hi Marie,
Is this what you are looking for a mugshot of William Jefferson?
William Jefferson Mugshot
Phil,
I was kind of hoping for one that had his booking number and all :-)
I mean the kind he had to take like Tom Delay had to take, or has be been to jail yet? Maybe I'm ahead of myself here.
He was arrested so there should be a mugshot.
I checked the Smoking Gun. No luck:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/
Mike,
Gee they couldnt wait to get Tom Delay's Mugshot out there and made such a whoopdie do about it, why arent they making such a whoopdie do about Jefferson?
If you find it Mike please drop in in here or my mail or wherever, I want to make a mockery of those that havent even posted Jefferson's Mug, and that includes Fox News!!
Youre right Marie..what a scandal!..sheesh!
Angel,
Yeah it's a scandal alright and I dont hear the news media or the MSM, or the Driveby's for that matter making half the fuss they did when Tom Delay's Mugshot was released.
Where is the OUTRAGE over this crap?
And why the hell hasnt William Jefferson been forced to step down by now?
It's really beginning to piss me off at the silence on Jefferson. I swear.
Marie said...And why the hell hasnt William Jefferson been forced to step down by now?
They made him step down from his seat on the small bussines committee for right now. He can only be forced out of the house if he is convicted of the crimes he is charged with. That may take some time but you're right about the silence from the demodud press. Jefferson is a democrat and black so don't look for headlines, it's standard operating procedure.
Hi Marie,
You Wrote: And why the hell hasnt William Jefferson been forced to step down by now?
It's really beginning to piss me off at the silence on Jefferson. I swear.
I Don't know Marie, my posts on my blog have manly been about either the War on Terrorism or on the Islamic excuses etc.....
I am more concerned on whether they will start to fight this war on terrorism more like a fight than a political correctness kid gloves on type of war.
Yesterday I read that In San Fransisco is trying to Ban the Blue Eagles from Flying over San Francisco and that is what had pissed me off, And the ones involved in part of that of course was that Communistic Code Pinko's.
I tell you after reading that I wanted to pickup a gun and go out on hunting season and see how many Liberals I could bag per night.
Hi J_G,
Yea it's standard for the liberals operating procedure.
We need more Conservative Press and news media's.
Jenn,
That didnt stop Tom Delay or Mark Foley from stepping down!
Foley was a different story, but till this day Tom Delay hasnt been convicted of a damn thing and he stepped down!
And where is Frozen Assets Mugshot?
They were in such a rush to throw out Tom Delay's Mugshot I want to know where all the whoopla is about Jefferson's!
Jefferson needs to step down NOW before Pelosi appoints him to the Homeland Security Council.
Phil,
One way you can tell how well the war on terror is going is if they concentrate on Paris Hilton all friggen day and not one IED in the war on Terror.
The way I read the news now is things must be pretty quiet in Baghdad if all the news is Paris Hilton!
You want to know where's the outrage, Marie? You won't find any, because William Jefferson (Democrat of Louisiana) is an African-American Congressman and a Democrat. Everybody in the Lame Stream Media knows they're crooks, and nobody expects anything better from them, like, maybe, not taking bribes. Tome Delay, being white, a Republican, and from Texas (which, after all, killed the Kennedys), is held to a higher standard.
Talk about pernicious racism.
Uncle P,
Then we better start making some noise then shouldnt we?
We need to hold these Liberals to account and make a big huge deal out of every little thing they do just like they did to us.
That's the problem we are just to damn quiet.
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