Homo Politicus by Dana Milbank: William Jefferson

Excerpts: William Jefferson

This behavior was in evidence one morning in July, 2005, when Rep. William Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, met his business partner Lori Mody in the parking lot of the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City. There, Jefferson reached into Mody's car trunk and puled out a reddish-brown colored leather briefcase that held $100,000 in $100 bills.

Had he done his homework, Jefferson would have had reason to be suspicious about the location. The complex was where Monica Lewinsky was stung by Linda Tripp and the FBI, and where Pentagon official Larry Franklin was exposed for leaking secrets to Israeli interests.

And, sure enough, it turned out poor Jefferson's friend Mody was wearing an FBI wire, and his acceptance of the briefcase was "video taped by the FBI from several vantage points," according to an affidavit. They filmed him putting the money in his own Lincoln Town Car and leaving the lot.

Jefferson had told Mody that he needed the money to give it to Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar as a motivating factor" to make sure they obtained contracts in Nigeria for businesses affiliated with Mody and Jefferson. But raiding Jefferson's home in Northeast Washington on August 3, FBI agents found $90,000 of the $100,000 – wrapped in aluminum foil in $10,000 increments, stuffed in frozen food containers, and stuck in the lawmaker's freezer disguised as leftovers.

Earlier, Jefferson had been taped by the FBI demanding that, for his troubles, his stake in the Nigerian company be increased from 7 percent to 30 percent, but put in the name of his five daughters. "I make a deal for my children," the family man explained. Total payments he took were put at $400,000.

Jefferson knew that this was risky behavior. At one point, dining at a restaurant with Mody and scribbling notes about kickbacks, he joked about "all these damn notes we're writing to each other as if we're talking as if the FBI is watching." Mody's recording device picked that up.

Jefferson argued that he was merely passing along money to corrupt people. "If he's got to pay Minister X, we don't want to know. . . That's all, you know, international fraud crap." Or it would have been if Jefferson didn't keep the money.

Just before the freezer raid, Mody asked Jefferson what had become of the "package."

"Um, I apologize, but, um, all I want to know is, did you deliver it?" Mody asked.

"Ah," Jefferson replied, "I gave him the African art that you gave me and he was very pleased."

Even after the freezer raid, Jefferson refused to cooperate, leading FBI agents in 2006 to raid Jefferson's congressional office. It was the first such raid of a congressman's office and sent the capital into a brief constitutional crisis as even Republicans protested the FBI's heavy hand. Bribery is one thing, lawmakers argued, but interfering with congressional prerogatives is a far more serious matter. "We need to protect the division of powers in the Constitution of the United States," proclaimed the House speaker, Denny Hastert.

Despite all the footage of his bribe receipt and the cold cash in the freezer, Jefferson retained the Potomac Man's characteristic sense of righteous indignation. "There are two sides to every story," he said in a Capitol Hill news conference. "There are certainly two sides to this story."

Jefferson perspired as he talked and rubbed his fingers together anxiously, but he said he would continue his bid for reelection because he had "been extraordinarily effective."

Ultimately, Jefferson would lose his challenge to the FBI raid of his office, and his Democratic colleagues kicked him off the powerful Ways and Means committee. But he retained the cool of a man who keeps his cash in the freezer.

A PBS reporter asked Jefferson if he would "concede that it does not look good."

"I can't talk about the facts of the matter with respect to whether things look good or don't look good," Jefferson replied.

Fox News tried a different tack: "If you did not take a $100,000 bribe, why not just say it now?"

"I simply will decline to answer," he said.

And, in fact, he did not have to. As investigators prepared an indictment, voters reelected Jefferson in 2006.


		Excerpts: William Jefferson This behavior was in evidence one morning in July, 2005, when Rep. William Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, met his business partner Lori Mody in the parking lot of the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City. There, Jefferson reached into Mody's car trunk and puled out a reddish-brown colored leather briefcase that held $100,000 in $100 bills. Had he done his homework, Jefferson would have had reason to be suspicious about the location. The complex was where Monica Lewinsky was stung by Linda Tripp and the FBI, and where Pentagon official Larry Franklin was exposed for leaking secrets to Israeli interests. And, sure enough, it turned out poor Jefferson's friend Mody was wearing an FBI wire, and his acceptance of the briefcase was "video taped by the FBI from several vantage points," according to an affidavit. They filmed him putting the money in his own Lincoln Town Car and leaving the lot. Jefferson had told Mody that he needed the money to give it to Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar as a motivating factor" to make sure they obtained contracts in Nigeria for businesses affiliated with Mody and Jefferson. But raiding Jefferson's home in Northeast Washington on August 3, FBI agents found $90,000 of the $100,000 – wrapped in aluminum foil in $10,000 increments, stuffed in frozen food containers, and stuck in the lawmaker's freezer disguised as leftovers. Earlier, Jefferson had been taped by the FBI demanding that, for his troubles, his stake in the Nigerian company be increased from 7 percent to 30 percent, but put in the name of his five daughters. "I make a deal for my children," the family man explained. Total payments he took were put at $400,000. Jefferson knew that this was risky behavior. At one point, dining at a restaurant with Mody and scribbling notes about kickbacks, he joked about "all these damn notes we're writing to each other as if we're talking as if the FBI is watching." Mody's recording device picked that up. Jefferson argued that he was merely passing along money to corrupt people. "If he's got to pay Minister X, we don't want to know. . . That's all, you know, international fraud crap." Or it would have been if Jefferson didn't keep the money. Just before the freezer raid, Mody asked Jefferson what had become of the "package." "Um, I apologize, but, um, all I want to know is, did you deliver it?" Mody asked. "Ah," Jefferson replied, "I gave him the African art that you gave me and he was very pleased." Even after the freezer raid, Jefferson refused to cooperate, leading FBI agents in 2006 to raid Jefferson's congressional office. It was the first such raid of a congressman's office and sent the capital into a brief constitutional crisis as even Republicans protested the FBI's heavy hand. Bribery is one thing, lawmakers argued, but interfering with congressional prerogatives is a far more serious matter. "We need to protect the division of powers in the Constitution of the United States," proclaimed the House speaker, Denny Hastert. Despite all the footage of his bribe receipt and the cold cash in the freezer, Jefferson retained the Potomac Man's characteristic sense of righteous indignation. "There are two sides to every story," he said in a Capitol Hill news conference. "There are certainly two sides to this story." Jefferson perspired as he talked and rubbed his fingers together anxiously, but he said he would continue his bid for reelection because he had "been extraordinarily effective." Ultimately, Jefferson would lose his challenge to the FBI raid of his office, and his Democratic colleagues kicked him off the powerful Ways and Means committee. But he retained the cool of a man who keeps his cash in the freezer. A PBS reporter asked Jefferson if he would "concede that it does not look good." "I can't talk about the facts of the matter with respect to whether things look good or don't look good," Jefferson replied. Fox News tried a different tack: "If you did not take a $100,000 bribe, why not just say it now?" "I simply will decline to answer," he said. And, in fact, he did not have to. As investigators prepared an indictment, voters reelected Jefferson in 2006. Copyright 2007-2008 by Dana Milbank
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