The case that brought new meaning to the term "cold cash" is back in the news again as Congressman William Jefferson, D-La., was indicted Monday on corruption charges:
The grand jury said Jefferson, 60, had solicited a bribe for himself and family members in a congressional dining room, falsely reported trips to Africa as official business, sought to corrupt a senior Nigerian politician and promoted U.S. financing for a sugar factory in Nigeria whose owner paid fees to a Jefferson family company in his home state.
The indictment said that at one point, Jefferson drove in his Lincoln Town Car through the streets of Arlington with $100,000 in marked FBI bills meant for a top Nigerian official whose assistance Jefferson needed for a business venture. The lawmaker allegedly stowed $90,000 in his home freezer, wrapped in aluminum foil and concealed inside frozen-food containers.
This should once again serve as a reminder that corruption exists on both sides of the aisle and more needs to be done to control the impact special interests have on our government.
As long as Congressman have the ability to shell out favors using taxpayer money, the capacity for corruption will continue - no matter who is in charge.
ReplyDeleteTwo things can be done - government transparency in earmarks (a cause ignored by the Republicans, trumpeted by the Democrats, and now ignored by the Democrats), and cutting the amount of money the government gets.
What's sad for conservatives is the Republicans can't even rouse themselves to roundly condemn the Democrats for ignoring their campaign promises on earmark reform, because the Republicans don't want to lose their own earmarks.
Crooks - all of them.