Congressman fights bribery allegations
WASHINGTON – A Louisiana congressman under investigation for bribery said Monday he would not resign in the face of allegations that he was videotaped accepting $100,000 from an informant.
Democratic Rep. William Jefferson, who has not been charged, called an FBI search of his Capitol office “an outrageous intrusion,” telling reporters: “There are two sides to every story. There are certainly two sides to this story.”
The FBI revealed Sunday that Jefferson was videotaped accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from an FBI informant, who agreed to have her conversations with the congressman taped. Agents later found the cash hidden in a freezer, according to court documents.
Asked if he took a bribe, Jefferson declined to answer. He also declined to talk about the videotape or other details alleged in an FBI affidavit presented to a judge as evidence for a warrant to search his office Saturday night and Sunday.
Jefferson, an eight-term congressman who turned 59 in March, maintained his innocence and said he plans to continue voting in the House.
He called the weekend search of his Capitol Hill office “an outrageous intrusion into separation of powers between the executive branch and the congressional branch, and no one has seen this in all the time of the life of the Congress.”
A historian with the Senate Historical Office said there is no record of any member’s congressional office being searched.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, asked about the Jefferson search at an unrelated news conference at the Justice Department, said he understands the concerns raised.
“I will admit that these were unusual steps that were taken in response to an unusual set of circumstances,” Gonzales said.
The search warrant affidavit spells out special procedures put in place to ensure the search did not infringe on privileged material. The procedures include use of a “filter team” of prosecutors and FBI agents not connected to the investigation. They would review any seized items or documents and determine whether the documents are privileged and therefore immune from the search warrant.
The government says Jefferson received $100,000 in a leather briefcase last July 30, allegedly to bribe a high-ranking Nigerian official.