By Susan Ferrechio 31 minutes ago
After campaigning on pledges to clean up Washington, Democrats are finding that dealing with one of their own members is proving nearly as difficult as weaning lawmakers from free meals and jet travel.
Since the news broke in 2005 that FBI agents found $90,000 in cash in the freezer of Rep. William J. Jefferson’s home, House Democrats have not known quite what to do about the Louisiana lawmaker.
The latest embarrassment arose Wednesday, when Democrats delayed action on placing Jefferson on the Homeland Security Committee after Republicans said they would demand a recorded vote.
The Democratic Caucus had signed off a day earlier on a resolution backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., that would give Jefferson a seat on the panel. Typically, a committee assignment would be a routine action approved on the floor by unanimous consent.
But faced with the prospect that enough Democrats might join Republicans to defeat the move, Democratic leaders backtracked.
Minority Whip Roy Blunt (news, bio, voting record), R-Mo., cited the ongoing federal bribery probe directed at Jefferson as the reason for GOP opposition. But he used the issue to accuse the Democrats — particularly Pelosi — of abandoning the strong anti-corruption stance they took in last year’s elections, which was credited with helping them win the majority.
Jefferson’s appointment to the committee, Blunt told reporters, “is such a contradiction to what the Speaker said and stood for during the campaign.”
“I won’t support that on the floor, and I don’t think most of my colleagues will, either,” he said.
Corruption Probe Drags On
Jefferson is the subject of a nearly two-year-long federal investigation, focusing on whether he accepted bribes in exchange for helping put together telecommunications deals in Africa.
As part of the probe, investigators allege that on July 30, 2005, they videotaped Jefferson receiving a briefcase containing $100,000 from an FBI informant. A few days later, the FBI executed search warrants to examine Jefferson’s homes and car, seizing a number of items, including the $90,000 in cash from a freezer in his Northeast Washington home.
He has yet to be charged with any wrongdoing, but eight months ago, during the height of the election season, Pelosi led an effort to revoke his seat on the House Ways and Means Committee because of the probe.
She succeeded despite considerable opposition from members of her own party who belong to the Congressional Black Caucus.
In recent weeks, Jefferson’s status among Democrats appeared to have changed somewhat, in part because of his outspokenness on issues relating to Hurricane Katrina recovery.
Earlier this week, Pelosi said Jefferson’s appointment to the Homeland Security panel would put him in a better position to help people in his New Orleans district. The committee oversees the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which was widely criticized for its handling of the Katrina disaster and is now undergoing a major reorganization.
Two Homeland Security subcommittees conducting a joint hearing Wednesday allowed Jefferson to sit on the dais and hear testimony from FEMA workers about efforts to realign the agency.
The move irked some Republicans on the panel. “It was just very surprising he wouldn’t wait to be confirmed by the House,” said one GOP aide.
Democratic leaders would not say Wednesday when they would attempt to raise Jefferson’s committee appointment on the House floor. But GOP leaders continued to hammer away at the issue, putting out statements citing “crumbling Democrat ethics standards.”
Minority Leader John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, called the move to appoint Jefferson “baffling and troubling,” citing the committee’s access to classified information. He said Republicans would vote against the appointment.
Some Democrats may follow suit, particularly freshmen who ran their campaigns based on anti-corruption platforms. Voting for Jefferson could be potentially embarrassing for them.
“I’d have to think about it,” said Tim Mahoney, a Florida Democrat who occupies the seat once held by former Rep. Mark Foley. Foley was forced to resign after making inappropriate overtures to underage male pages.
“From my perspective, it’s important we do more to amplify ethics,” Mahoney added.
Even Jefferson’s colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus are not guaranteed backers.
“I’m going to do what’s fair,” said Democrat Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, who declined to comment on how he might vote.
Other caucus members were less concerned.
“I don’t think it will be that big of a problem,” said Albert R. Wynn, D-Md. “If the leader puts it forward, the caucus members should endorse it.”
Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., dismissed Republican concerns, noting that they are in no position to question ethics. The activities of several Republican members, including House Appropriations Committee ranking member Jerry Lewis (news, bio, voting record) of California, are currently being examined by federal investigators. Hoyer said any challenge by Republicans to the appointment “will be interesting.”
Jefferson Maintains Innocence
While Jefferson remains in limbo in the House, his legal situation is also on hold.
His lawyers filed a 40-page brief Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals as part of an ongoing effort to retrieve documents seized by the FBI during a raid on the lawmaker’s congressional office last year.
Jefferson, who maintains his innocence, says he has no intention of sitting on the Homeland Security panel as a non-voting member.
“I expect to serve on the committee. I’m not thinking about contingency plans,” he said.
Jefferson called the GOP opposition to his appointment “politics as usual.”
“Speaker Pelosi did the right thing by placing the congressional member who represents hurricane-ravaged New Orleans on this committee,” he said. “My district desperately needs a voice on this panel, which oversees FEMA and examines how to improve federal response to natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina.”
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