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His constituents deserve him. They knew he was crooked and voted for him anyway.
I wonder if they are investigating any other CBC members. I wonder how many have thousands of dollars wrapped in tin foil stuffed in a Popsicle box?
What About Our Daughters
Unfortunately, the history of unequal justice is such that it makes it impossible for anyone - Black or white - to view any particular case without reference to America's profound criminal justice inequality. If Dollar Bill is guilty, then he should pay for it - but not more than the white politicians who have done the same thing before him and will do the same thing again.
"Equal justice before the law" means that if white politicians get a slap on the wrist for having public money under their mattresses, then Black politicians' penalty for the same offense should NOT be ten or twenty times as much.
Let's compare this case to those of all of the Congressmen involved with Randy Cunningham and ask ourselves if any of those white men got "life in prison." How can Blacks build any wealth in the United States if only whites are allowed to raid the public coffers?
Now that it’s 400k, ok. ....LOL
But, it’s still peanuts…remember Duke Cunningham’s going down for well over 2 mil.
They get our pols for pennies on the dollar…they’re not even good at being crooks.
The solution isn't to send him to jail for less time, but to send everybody else to jail for a longer time.
Investigate them all.
I feel that he should be expelled or impeached. It has nothing to do with his color. It is strictly a matter of ethics.
Democrats (Pelosi & CBC) would do well to talk with Jefferson quietly and forcefully to get him to resign without the embarrassmet of being removed.
do the crime; do the time.
peace, Villager
That said: I've got a problem with him being treated differently than any other Congressman. There are several other members of Congress who have been, or currently are, under investigation and they aren't/weren't treated as Jefferson has been. I'm not defending Jefferson, so much as I'm defending the necessity for every member of Congress to be held to the same standard.
Moreover, he was re-elected to his position in the House and was entitled to a committee seat. I never understood why people got to mad at Pelosi for doing what she had to do.
I don't know if he should get life, but he needs to atleast get as long as Jim Trafficant. And besides we don't know which Congressmen pled guilty instead of having to go through a trial. And yes, it is possible that he did more dirt than they did.
Racism ISN'T an affirmative defense to crime. You don't get to lie cheat steal and kill and then cry racism.
Again, the solution isn't to throw the book at him less, but to throw the book at everyone else more.
might I add. that the people of his district needed an honorable congressman much more than usual. Maybe if he had been on the job, the levees might have gotten inspected? Not all his fault, but add him to the list of folks who were asleep at the will.
Why can't we just be happy that an apparently corrupt congressman is going to jail without whining because White folks didn't go to jail for as long.
It's not about equal treatment here because these brothers know that there's a double standard for abusing their elected offices, and therefore, they should always conduct themselves in a manner higher than their white collegues. Until racism is eliminated from life, that's just the way it is.
And if the CBC didn't get another taste of how Fox Noise treats Black people by slandering John Conyers "pretending" to be Dollar Bill Jefferson, they are beyond delusional and all of us should show up at CBC Weekend to call them out on it in person.
Another point, which many people fail to recognize, and one I came to understand while in prison, and that is briberies at this level are conducted in the underworld by characters who have no value for human life. Little is said of Abramoff's partner in the SunCruz Casino deal, Gus Boulis, who was assassinated gangland-style. Corruption and bribery can put politicians in bed with underworld gangsters. Therefore, I feel like G-e-m 2001, that politicians deserve more, not less, punishment because it represents a usurpations of the people's will for the sake of profiteering.
Jefferson is a graduate of Harvard Law School. Three of his daughters are graduates of Harvard Law School. Despite the racism that exists in this country, he and his family have shown a unique ability to use their influence and contacts to acquire one of the most prestigious access cards in America. Their road to Harvard has been paved, in part, by using the hard won political capital of black people.
Jefferson’s behavior simply cannot be defended. If part of the reason he was indicted is based on the color of his skin, that's tough. Did he think that a Harvard law degree and his election to Congress would turn him white and provide him with a get-out-jail-free card? He is a grifter and a hustler who, based on my read of the charges, conspired with his family to set up a criminal enterprise. Telling the business man who gave him the money that it was needed in order to payoff a Nigerian official is straight out of the organized crime extortion playbook.
Jefferson is an elected official and what matters most is how he is perceived. He and every politician in this country knows this is true. We don't have to wait until he is indicted and convicted in order to make a judgment about his fitness to serve in the House or on various committees in the House. I couldn't serve on a jury that deliberates on his guilt or innocence because I believe he is guilty of extortion and accepting bribes.
As a voter and someone who cares deeply about the integrity of the political process, I am entitled to make any judgment about William Jefferson that I please. William Jefferson cannot be a poster child for racial discrimination. He has misused the political capital of his constituents and he does not deserve our sympathy. He is not a tragic figure.
Right on daryl!
I put up a post yesterday on my blog about this "But. But. What About the White Folks?" defense people are latching on to.
Yes, racism exists. Deal with it. I am not going to profess his guilt or innocence because indictments are not convictions.
Here is what I found -- He is clearly a remarkable man.
1. Jefferson is Louisiana's first black Congressman since the end of Reconstruction.
2. He had eight brothers and sisters, and his father was a sharecropper, and a heavy-equipment operator. Nevertheless, he earned a law degree from Harvard University.
3. Since serving in Congress, Jefferson and his family have had control of one of the most sophisticated and effective get-out-the-vote organizations in South Louisiana: the Progressive Democrats, etc., etc.
Now, that having been said in an attempt at balance, permit me to rephrase the present indictment as follows:
The Republican Right-wing controlled FBI investigated a prominent African-American male Progressive Democrat for petty bribery and fraud. Videotapes were made, along with a dramatic search and seizure of a sum of money.
Associates of the Progressive Democrat, under threat of a heavy fine and a life prison sentence, plead guilty and implicated him -- in the hope of getting a reduction of their sentence.
I'll stop here after asking that we please let's try to separate fact from fiction – that we try to get at the truth, and then try to react in accordance with the significance of these discovered truths.
I maintain that, so far, all we have is the accusation of petty bribery and fraud, which should be at most embarrassing to the Democratic Party, rather than requiring a vigilante lynch mob.. Maybe in another post, we can compare his suspected behavior with the colossal pack of lies, bribery and fraud which the Congressional Hearings over the last five months seem to indicate have characterized the present Republican Right-wing Administration.
When you are an elected official you do not accept or solicit bribes in order to carry out your official duties.
Since when is Dollar Bill Jefferson a progressive Democrat?
Allow me to introduce you to this:
http://www.cbcmonitor.voxunion.com/report card
Jefferson has scored consistently in the Derelict category since we started publishing the report card in 2005. He has been consistently derelict in representation of his New Orleans district, and while his overcoming against all odds are certainly mitigating factors if his indictments were less than bribery, his voting record indicates he is exactly as Daryl has described him: a grifter and a hustler.
You would think having a Harvard Law degree would have opened the doors for him to really do good. A GOTV effort only ensured his re-election and nothing more.