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Most Honest, Most Ethical, Most Frostbitten Congress In History

Rep. "Dollar" Bill Jefferson (D-LA) is back in the news today.  No, cops didn't find another $90,000 in bribe money stashed in his freezer.

But Congressman Jefferson has turned up in an equally unlikely place:  on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Rep. William Jefferson, the Louisiana Democrat who's facing an ongoing federal corruption probe, is being granted a spot on the Homeland Security Committee, according to Democratic aides.

The appointment will be announced Friday, according to one aide who requested anonymity because the decision isn't yet official.

Jefferson was removed from his seat on the Ways and Means Committee, one of the most important panels in Congress, by Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) last summer in an attempt to show how seriously Democrats viewed the allegations of corruption.

Yes, let that last point marinade for moment.

But the move by Pelosi, who was still minority leader at the time, infuriated members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who said Jefferson shouldn't be punished unless he is indicted; federal prosecutors have yet to bring an indictment, despite an FBI raid 18 months ago on his home that yielded $90,000 in cash in his freezer.

New Orleans saw fit to return this crook to Washington six months after cops thawed out his illicit stash.  But now, thanks to Democratic leadership that's willing to excuse (if not reward) egregious corruption, so long as it curries favor with a targeted demographic, this crooked sham of a politician will now be all of our problem.

Has the CBC convinced the Speaker to undertake a Congressional affirmative action program?  If Jefferson's appointment goes through, Black members will make up 37% of the Democratic members of the Homeland Security Committee (more than double their representation in the House).

Previously:
Crime Doesn't Pay
A Picture's Worth 90,000 Dollars

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Most Honest, Most Ethical, Most Frostbitten Congress In History

Rep. "Dollar" Bill Jefferson (D-LA) is back in the news today.  No, cops didn't find another $90,000 in bribe money stashed in his freezer.

But Congressman Jefferson has turned up in an equally unlikely place:  on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Rep. William Jefferson, the Louisiana Democrat who's facing an ongoing federal corruption probe, is being granted a spot on the Homeland Security Committee, according to Democratic aides.

The appointment will be announced Friday, according to one aide who requested anonymity because the decision isn't yet official.

Jefferson was removed from his seat on the Ways and Means Committee, one of the most important panels in Congress, by Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) last summer in an attempt to show how seriously Democrats viewed the allegations of corruption.

Yes, let that last point marinade for moment.

But the move by Pelosi, who was still minority leader at the time, infuriated members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who said Jefferson shouldn't be punished unless he is indicted; federal prosecutors have yet to bring an indictment, despite an FBI raid 18 months ago on his home that yielded $90,000 in cash in his freezer.

New Orleans saw fit to return this crook to Washington six months after cops thawed out his illicit stash.  But now, thanks to Democratic leadership that's willing to excuse (if not reward) egregious corruption, so long as it curries favor with a targeted demographic, this crooked sham of a politician will now be all of our problem.

Has the CBC convinced the Speaker to undertake a Congressional affirmative action program?  If Jefferson's appointment goes through, Black members will make up 37% of the Democratic members of the Homeland Security Committee (more than double their representation in the House).

Previously:
Crime Doesn't Pay
A Picture's Worth 90,000 Dollars