The GOP wait ends

Republicans have been waiting a long time for federal prosecutors to charge Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.). They got their wish Monday when he was indicted on 16 counts of corruption.

The FBI raided Jefferson’s office on Capitol Hill in May of last year. The following month, then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spearheaded a successful effort to remove Jefferson from the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

To the dismay of Republicans, prosecutors did not bring the charges against Jefferson until after the 2006 elections, in which Democrats gained control of both chambers.

From June 2006 until the elections, former Bush administration official David Safavian was found guilty of corruption, then Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) agreed to a plea deal that landed him in prison, and the Mark Foley scandal erupted.

Voters were certainly aware of Jefferson and the alleged $90,000 in his freezer last November, but plea deals, prison time and the most salacious scandal to hit Capitol Hill were owned by Republicans.

GOP lawmakers will undoubtedly tout the Jefferson indictment repeatedly over the next several months and probably into next year.

It got messy for Pelosi when she bounced Jefferson from the Ways and Means panel, but it was the right political move.
Still, members of the Congressional Black Caucus were not pleased that Pelosi acted before an indictment, much less before their colleague is proven guilty.

There is little doubt that Pelosi and others in the House leadership were rooting for Karen Carter (D) to defeat Jefferson in last year’s runoff election. But Jefferson, who has worked extensively on Hurricane Katrina matters for his district, won easily. And while he is a pariah to some in the Democratic Caucus, he also has powerful friends.  

This cycle, Jefferson’s campaign has received political donations from Reps. Sanford Bishop Jr. (D-Ga.), G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), Julia Carson (D-Ind.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), and Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.), according to Political Money Line. In the 2006 cycle, now-House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and now-Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) contributed to Jefferson’s war chest.

Jefferson has steadfastly maintained his innocence. But it is worth noting that then-Reps. Ney and Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.) said they did nothing wrong until they reached a deal with prosecutors. And the federal indictment against Jefferson makes a convincing argument that the legislator broke the law.

This newspaper will reserve judgment until Jefferson has his day in court, but Jefferson’s guilt or innocence does not change the fact that Democrats have a political problem on their hands. The poll numbers for congressional Democrats have dropped recently and news coverage of Jefferson’s case in the weeks and months ahead will undoubtedly be a distraction to their legislative agenda.