Rep. Jefferson's Curious Conduct

The Justice Department yesterday vigorously defended the recent weekend raid of Rep. William J. Jefferson's Capitol Hill office as part of a bribery investigation, asserting that the Democratic lawmaker attempted to hide documents from FBI agents while they were searching his New Orleans home last August.

The government questioned in a 34-page motion filed in U.S. District Court here whether it could have obtained all the materials it had sought in a subpoena if it had not launched the surprise raid on Jefferson's congressional office May 20. According to the government filing, an FBI agent caught Jefferson slipping documents into a blue bag in the living room of his New Orleans home during a search.

"It is my belief that when Congressman Jefferson placed documents into the blue bag, he was attempting to conceal documents that were relevant to the investigation," FBI agent Stacey E. Kent of New Orleans stated in an affidavit that was part of the government's court submission. The document was filed in response to Jefferson's lawsuit demanding that the government return to him documents seized during the raid on his Capitol Hill office 11 days ago.

Robert P. Trout, Jefferson's attorney, said he would refrain from commenting pending further review of the government's documents. Meanwhile, the recent FBI raid spurred new tensions between Congress and the administration, as a House committee chairman vowed to interrogate top Justice Department officials.

Sounds like Rep. Jefferson (D-LA) has nothing to hide. Other than the $90,000 in cold cash found in his townhome freezer. Or incriminating documents that might show his involvment in other bribery schemes or other misconduct.

And the amazing thing is that the current kurfuffle with members of Congress acting indignant over the FBI's search of Jefferson's office and home and claiming that it was constitutionally prohibited despite the fact that one would have to completely misread the Constitution to believe that members of congress were immune from searches under legally and duly obtained warrants.

LaShawn Barber has more, including an analysis of the racial angle. To me, this isn't about race - it's about the corruption of a member of Congress. But there are folks, including the Congressional Black Caucus who do think this is a GOP smear campaign against a black member of Congress despite the mountain of evidence against Jefferson.

UPDATE:
MSNBC is reporting that the DOJ is making a 'concession' that they will provide Jefferson with copies of all the documents that were taken in the course of the search. If they found materials implicating Jefferson engaging in criminal activity, they would have to provide the defense with that information anyways. This isn't so much a concession as a PR move.