Political messages shadow Justice Department's release of Jefferson indictment
 A Monday afternoon press conference by Justice Department officials announcing the indictment on 16 public corruption counts against Louisiana Democratic Rep. William Jefferson was shadowed by politics. Justice Department officials worked to emphasize that they would press their prosecution fairly and without partisan interest.
"The Department of Justice will continue to enforce the public corruption laws that are designed to ensure the integrity of our government," said Alice Fisher, Assistant Attorney General in the Justice Department's Criminal Division, as she introduced other officials, heavily emphasizing the word 'continue' as she spoke.
She added, "The Department will continue to hold accountable those public officials who will use their office for public acts such as the bribery schemes outlined in this indictment."
When asked why now was the right moment to indict Jefferson, Chuck Rosenberg, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia answered simply, "I really just think we reached a critical mass and we were ready to go."
Since March 16, Rosenberg has also been serving as Interim Chief of Staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales after his previous Chief of Staff D. Kyle Sampson stepped down in connection with the controversy surrounding the firing of 8 US Attorneys.
Earlier, he had forcefully responded to the idea that the prosecution was in any way politically motivated or tainted.
"I'm going to answer that question not as the political appointee that I am now, but as the career federal prosecutor that I was for so many years...frankly we don't give a damn about politics. I don't care if he's a Republican, I don't care if he's a Democrat, I don't care if he's a senator, I don't care if he's a member of the House, I don't care if he's a state official, and I don't care if he's a local official. We believe he broke the law. That's why we brought the charges," he said.
Ken Keiser, the assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Criminal Division also noted that the 'grave breach of trust' represented by Jefferson's alleged actions required prosecution.
"There is no level of acceptable corruption," Keiser said forcefully. "If there are examples of why public corruption should be our top investigative priority, this is certainly one of those."
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also released a statement noting that she was aware of the political implications of the case.
"The charges in the indictment against Congressman Jefferson are extremely serious. While Mr. Jefferson, just as any other citizen, must be considered innocent until proven guilty, if these charges are proven true, they constitute an egregious and unacceptable abuse of public trust and power," Rep. Pelosi (D-CA) said in a statement at her official website. "As we have demonstrated in implementing tough ethics reforms and passing tough lobbying reforms already this year, Democrats are committed to upholding a high ethical standard and eliminating corruption and unethical behavior from the Congress."
The New Orleans Times-Picayune also says that Jefferson could continue to serve in Congress in spite of the charges filed against him.
House Republicans showed that they were ready to rapidly seize upon the Jefferson indictment and take action. Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), the House Minority Leader, announced his intention to force a Congressional vote on a resolution that "will instruct the Ethics panel to review the serious allegations and evidence against Jefferson and report within 30 days on whether he should be expelled from the House for conduct that brings dishonor to the institution."
"If the charges against Congressman Jefferson are true, he should be expelled from the House of Representatives, or he should resign to spare his constituents and colleagues any further indignity," Boehner said in a statement at his office's blog. "If my Democratic colleagues are serious about holding all lawmakers to the highest standards of ethical conduct, they will support the Republican effort to remove Congressman Jefferson from his seat on the Small Business Committee and to refer the matter of his indictment on bribery, racketeering, and money-laundering charges to the House Ethics Committee for quick resolution."
Rosenberg spent time during the press conference outlining the public corruption charges that were contained in the 95 page indictment against Jefferson, including conspiracy, solicitation of bribes, wire fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and RICO violations. Jefferson could face up to 255 years in prison if convicted of all the charges and receiving the maximum penalty, and be forced to turn over slightly less than $400,000 in bribes he received as he allegedly worked to broker a business deal between a Kentucky-based telecommunciations firm and a Nigerian company.
The US Attorney also said that Jefferson had committed "serious crimes" that were "in violation of his oath of office, his duty to the US Congress...and his duty to the citizens of the United States."
Moving forward, Rosenberg said that Rep. Jefferson would be arraigned on Friday, June 8. Rosenberg refused to confirm or deny whether or not there had been any discussions of a plea bargain.
The group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington posted the full indictment to their blog, which can be downloaded from this link.
RAW STORY did not receive a response from Robert Trout, Jefferson's attorney, when it wrote an e-mail seeking a statement on the case.
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