William J. Jefferson Totally Explained

Everything about William J Jefferson totally explained

William Jennings Jefferson (born March 14, 1947) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Louisiana. A Democrat, Jefferson has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1991. He represents On 3 May 2006 Vernon Jackson, 53, CEO of Louisville, Kentucky based iGate Inc., admitted to bribery of a public official and conspiracy to bribe a public official during a plea hearing in U.S. District Court. According to the Associated Press, "court documents make clear that Congressman William Jefferson (Democrat-Louisiana) is the accused congressman, without naming him." Jackson's plea bargain requires his cooperation in the ongoing investigation against the congressman he admits bribing. The total amount of the bribes is between $400,000 and $1 million, according to court documents of the Jackson proceeding. On September 8, Jackson was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in jail.

Congressional office raid

The raid of Jefferson's office set off a series of political events. Jefferson immediately challenged the action in federal court. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi issued "a rare joint statement demanding that the FBI return the documents and saying that Jefferson then should cooperate more fully with the investigation." "Many Republicans and Democrats contend that the unprecedented raid on a congressional office was unduly aggressive and may have breached the constitutional separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government that are meant to shelter lawmakers from administrative intimidation." Tensions escalated to the point where, according to AP, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, his deputy, Paul McNulty, and possibly FBI Director Robert Mueller "were said to be ready to quit if the Justice Department was asked to return the Jefferson documents...[whilethe] House was threatening to go after the Justice Department's budget."
   On May 25, President Bush stepped in, taking the extraordinary step of "directing the Department of Justice to seal all the materials recovered from Congressman Jefferson's office for the next 45 days and not to allow access to anyone involved in the investigation." Representative James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, began to hold hearings, called "Reckless Justice: Did the Saturday Night Raid of Congress Trample the Constitution?", on the "profoundly disturbing" questions that he said the Justice Department's actions raised.
   The FBI, in answering Jefferson's complaint of the raid, attached an FBI agent's affidavit claiming that the raid was necessary because while the FBI was searching his home in August, Jefferson tried to "surreptitiously remove" documents.
   An ABC News poll released 1 June 2006 found 86% of Americans supported the FBI's right to search congressional offices when they obtain a warrant.
   On July 10, 2006, Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled the FBI raid on Jefferson's office was legal, rejecting his and the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives's claim that the search violated the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause, separation of powers principle and Fourth Amendment. Chief Judge Hogan, in a 28-page ruling, acknowledged that the "facts and questions of law presented here are indeed unprecedented," but wrote that it's "well-established" that a Congressman is "generally bound to the operation of the criminal laws as are ordinary persons," and the Speech or Debate Clause doesn't "make Members of Congress super-citizens, immune from criminal responsibility.'" Hogan, in his conclusion, wrote:
ť "The existing broad protections of the Speech or Debate Clause – absolute immunity from prosecution or suit for legislative acts and freedom from being 'questioned' about those acts (including privilege from the testimonial act of producing documents in response to a subpoena) – satisfy the fundamental purpose of the Clause to protect the independence of the legislature. The Court declines to extend those protections further, holding that the Speech or Debate Clause doesn't shield Members of Congress from the execution of valid search warrants. Congressman Jefferson's interpretation of the Speech or Debate privilege would have the effect of converting every congressional office into a taxpayer-subsidized sanctuary for crime. Such a result isn't supported by the Constitution or judicial precedent and won't be adopted here. See Williamson v. United States, 28 S. Ct. at 167 ('[T]he laws of this country allow no place or employment as a sanctuary for crime.') (quotation omitted).

However, later that same month, a three-judge appellate panel unanimously overruled Hogan's decision and affirmed that the Department of Justice couldn't review Rep. Jefferson's files until he'd seen what files were taken and which of those pertained to his work as a legislator. The appellate court directed that Hogan, the judge who originally authorized the controversial search and seizure, should determine if Jefferson's claims of legislative privilege extend to specific seized files that the lawmaker may cite. On March 31, 2008, the United States Supreme Court denied further review.

Stripped of committee membership

On May 24, 2006, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi publicly requested Jefferson's immediate resignation from the House Ways and Means Committee, but he declined to step down. Although Mel Watt, then chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, declared the strong support of the caucus for Jefferson it has since been reported that two prominent members of the caucus, John Lewis (D-GA) and Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) have played a major role in the campaign to force Jefferson to step down.
On 15 June 2006, House Democrats voted to strip Jefferson of his committee assignment while the federal bribery investigation continued. The vote passed 99-58. Some have reported that the vote was passed as a result of Democrats who were determined to make an election-year point about ethics. The full House, which is the only group with the power to actually remove Jefferson, then stripped him of his seat on the committee on June 16 in a voice vote without debate. Jefferson had offered to step aside temporarily if the Democratic caucus established a rule concerning cases like his and if his seat went to Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA). This offer was rejected by House Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

2006 Election

Eight Democrats, three Republicans and one Libertarian candidate ran against him.
   A significant number of the district’s voters were still scattered across the United States as a result of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
   None of the candidates obtained more than 50% of the vote on the first ballot (November 7, 2006) and, therefore, a second ballot was necessary. The two candidates who survived the first ballot were both black Democrats: Jefferson, who got 30% of the vote, and State Representative Karen Carter, who enjoyed support from the Louisiana Democratic Party’s establishment, picked up nearly all endorsements from local politicians and the local press and gathered 22% of the vote.
   Political commentators predicted an easy victory for Carter on the second ballot (to be held on December 9, 2006). In the last week of campaign however, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee, a law and order Democrat, urged voters not to vote for Carter. In response to Carter's criticism of Gretna police officers and Jefferson Parish deputies, who blocked the Crescent City Connection and prevented evacuees from fleeing New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina, Lee mailed out 25,000 flyers and made public statements attacking Carter. Voter turnout dwindled from 24.15% to 16.25%. While residents of the city of New Orleans gave Jefferson a slight majority over Carter, (51% to 49%), the Jefferson Parish share of the district voted for Jefferson by a staggering 71% to 29%, clearly swinging the election in his favor.
   Following Jefferson's reelection, Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi announced that he won't regain his seat on the Ways and Means Committee as long as he isn't "cleared of wrongdoing in an ongoing federal corruption probe". On June 8, 2007, Jefferson pled not guilty to the indictment. After the hearing, Jefferson said, "I am absolutely innocent of the charges that have been leveled against me. I'm going to fight my heart out to clear my name." He further explained, "The $90,000 was the FBI's money. The FBI gave it to me as part of its plan — part of their plan — that I'd give it to the Nigerian vice president, but I didn't do that. When all the facts are understood, I trust that I'll be vindicated."

Electoral history

Mayor of New Orleans, 1982 Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, February 6, 1982

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Ernest Morial	Democratic	75,929 (47%)	Runoff
Ron Faucheux	Democratic	73,441 (45%)	Runoff
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	11,327 (7%)	Defeated
Others	n.a.	1,164 (1%)	Defeated

Second Ballot, March 20, 1982

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Ernest Morial	Democratic	100,703 (53%)	Elected
Ron Faucheux	Democratic	88,583 (47%)	Defeated

Mayor of New Orleans, 1986 Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, February 1, 1986

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	62,333 (39%)	Runoff
Sidney Barthelemy	Democratic	53,961 (33%)	Runoff
Sam LeBlanc	Democratic	40,963 (25%)	Defeated
Others	n.a.	4,372 (3%)	Defeated

Second Ballot, March 1, 1986

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Sidney Barthelemy	Democratic	93,050 (58%)	Elected
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	67,680 (42%)	Defeated

State Senator, 1987 Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 24, 1987

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	No Opponents	Elected

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 1990 Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 6, 1990

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	32,237 (24%)	Runoff
Marc Morial	Democratic	29,366 (22%)	Runoff
Jon Johnson	Democratic	25,468 (19%)	Defeated
Woody Koppel	Democratic	24,175 (18%)	Defeated
Others	n.a.	20,800 (17%)	Defeated

Second Ballot, November 6, 1990

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	55,239 (52%)	Elected
Marc Morial	Democratic	50,232 (48%)	Defeated

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 1992 Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 3, 1992

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	67,030 (73%)	Elected
Wilma Knox Irvin	Democratic	14,121 (15%)	Defeated
Roger Johnson	Independent	10,090 (11%)	Defeated

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 1994 Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 1, 1994

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	60,906 (78%)	Elected
Bob Namer	Republican	15,113 (19%)	Defeated
Others	n.a.	5,549 (3%)	Defeated

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 1996 Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, September 21, 1996

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	No Opponents	Elected

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 1998 Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, November 3, 1998

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	102,247 (78%)	Elected
David Reed	Democratic	10,803 (9%)	Defeated
Don-Terry Veal	Democratic	5,899 (5%)	Defeated

Governor of Louisiana, 1999 Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 23, 1999

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Mike Foster	Republican	805,203 (62%)	Elected
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	382,445 (30%)	Defeated
Others	n.a.	107,557 (8%)	Defeated

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 2000 Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, November 7, 2000

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	No Opponents	Elected

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 2002 Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, November 5, 2002

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	90,310 (64%)	Elected
Irma Muse Dixon	Democratic	28,480 (20%)	Defeated
Silky Sullivan	Republican	15,440 (11%)	Defeated
Others	n.a.	7,926 (5%)	Defeated

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 2004 Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, November 2, 2004

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	173,510 (79%)	Elected
Art Schwertz	Republican	46,097 (21%)	Defeated

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 2006 Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, November 7, 2006

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	27,706 (30%)	Runoff
Karen Carter	Democratic	19,972 (22%)	Runoff
Derrick Shepherd	Democratic	16,621 (18%)	Defeated
Joe Lavigne	Republican	12,405 (13%)	Defeated
Troy Carter	Democratic	11,052 (12%)	Defeated
Others	n.a.	4,661 (5%)	Defeated

Second Ballot, December 9, 2006

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	35,153 (57%)	Elected
Karen Carter	Democratic	27,011 (43%)	Defeated

Footnotes

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