About That Culture of Corruption

One of the big Democrat talking points over the past year or so has been that the GOP has fostered a culture of corruption. Apparently that culture of corruption has extended into quite a few Democrat strongholds, including New Orleans:

Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, proclaimed his innocence Monday in the face of allegations that he accepted bribes for himself and his family in exchange for helping a small Kentucky technology company land contracts in the United States and Africa.

In a news conference on the steps of the Hale Boggs Federal Building on Poydras Street, Jefferson repeated statements that he has done nothing wrong.

The political pressure on eight-term congressman heated up early this month, when the CEO of the communication company iGate Inc. admitted in court to paying more than $400,000 in bribes to a bogus company controlled by the Jefferson's wife and family in exchange for official favors.

Vernon L. Jackson's guilty plea was the second in the case, an investigation into what prosecutors describe as Jefferson's four-year scheme to promote deals for iGate in exchange for secret monthly payments and a share of the company's stock and profits. Brett Pfeffer, a former Jefferson congressional aide pleaded guilty in January to similar charges, saying the congressman demanded bribes from a wealthy northern Virginia woman who agreed to invest in iGate's African telecommunications ventures.

The May 3 Jackson plea put the Jefferson case back in the national spotlight at a time that congressional Democrats are trying to highlight Republican scandals as an issue in the mid-term elections. Following Jackson's admissions, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said that Jefferson should be investigated by the House Ethics Committee. An editorial Monday in The Washington Post suggested that Jefferson should resign for the good of his district.

Jefferson has repeatedly denied taking improper payments for performing his public duties and expressed surprise and disappointment at the Jackson and Pfeffer pleas.

The criminal probe of Jefferson became public last August when the FBI raided his homes in New Orleans and Washington.

As I'd earlier noted:

Obligatory Anecdotes provides some more information about William Jefferson's problems. That would be the Louisiana representative who happened to misappropriate National Guardmen and vehicles to drive him to his New Orleans home and assist him in removing personal items after the hurricane. He's the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), which raised more than $400,000 in Katrina relief aid, but managed to not distribute it in a timely fashion all while accusing the Bush Administration of being slow to deliver. Well, it looks like Jefferson did manage to distribute the monies, but to Jefferson's own cronies. Go figure.

Paul and Kevin at Wizbang were running a story that Jefferson was considering resigning in light of the swirling controversy, but that hasn't happened.

Congressman Jefferson called the media to give a statement this afternoon. The scuttlebutt was that he was going to resign. I should have known he was too arrogant for that.

Instead Jefferson got up and played the race card. (imagine that!) "There just picking on me because I'm black." Other than jury tampering I'm not sure why he gave the speech.

I think he wanted to see his name in the paper.