Feb. 15, 2007 – 9:45 p.m.
Eight months after stripping Rep.
The move, confirmed by a top Democratic leadership aide and expected to take place Friday, is aimed at giving Jefferson, D-La., a greater opportunity to help the people in his district, particularly those still recovering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Jefferson, the subject of an ongoing federal bribery probe, surprised fellow lawmakers and political observers Dec. 9 when he won election to a ninth term in a close runoff race.
“He’s been in limbo for a long time,” the leadership aide said. “He’s a member of Congress representing his constituents and is working on issues of concern to his district and the country.”
Jefferson has been embroiled in a nearly two-year-old federal investigation focusing on whether the 59-year-old lawmaker accepted bribes when he attempted to help set up some telecommunications deals in Africa for a Kentucky-based company called iGate Inc. Court documents indicate that the FBI has accumulated a significant amount of evidence in the case, including video of Jefferson allegedly accepting a $100,000 cash bribe from an FBI informant.
The case became fodder for late-night talk show comedians after investigators raided his home and found $90,000 in cash tucked away in a freezer.
Pelosi, however, was not amused.
Under her direction, the House last June stripped Jefferson of his seat on the powerful tax-writing committee.
Pelosi, D-Calif., reaffirmed that action when she left Jefferson off the Ways and Means roster at the start of the 110th Congress. Instead, he drew an assignment to the Small Business Committee.
House GOP Conference spokesman Ed Patru called the decision “troubling” but added: “It’s probably better than putting him on the ethics committee.”
In recent weeks, Jefferson’s status in the caucus appears to have changed somewhat, in part because of his outspokenness on issues relating to post-Katrina recovery.
He has twice in one week appeared in front of cameras with Democratic leaders to discuss the Katrina recovery problems. Last week, he sat at the table alongside Pelosi, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and other leaders strategizing about Katrina-related legislation. On Thursday, he appeared at a Katrina news conference alongside House Majority Leader
He is likely to play a more prominent role in the weeks ahead because Democratic leaders have pledged to take up Katrina-related bills as soon as the House returns, Feb. 26, from the Presidents Day recess.
Jefferson’s current status, however, may only last as long as the federal investigation remains unfinished.
Federal authorities are now trying to gain final custody of documents seized in a raid on Jefferson’s congressional office last spring. The materials are under seal, awaiting the outcome of Jefferson’s legal challenge to the seizure.
Asked how the Democratic leadership might handle a possible Jefferson indictment, the leadership aide said: “We’ll deal with that when — or if — that occurs.”