Representative William Jefferson Watch: Affadavit Ties Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar to William Jefferson Probe

Ray Nagin, seated left with his wife Seletha Nagin, seated right, receive a standing ovation from U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.,background left, and U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., before he is sworn in for a second term as Mayor of New Orleans at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans on Thursday, June 1, 2006.

ASSociated Press: Documents tie Nigerian to Jefferson probe

Nigeria’s vice president sought as much as $500,000 and a stake in a technology venture in his country, Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record) told an FBI informant, according to court documents filed in a bribery probe of the congressman.

Jefferson is alleged to have told the informant that he had delivered “African art,” which authorities believe was code for cash, to the Potomac, Md., home of the wife of Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar at midnight last July 31.

Details of the alleged deal were included in an affidavit filed in August in U.S. District Court to secure a warrant to search Abubakar’s house in Potomac. The affidavit was unsealed Monday by the federal court in Greenbelt.

The affidavit says delivery of the money came shortly after Jefferson received $100,000 in cash from the FBI informant that was supposed to help smooth the way for a Kentucky telecommunications company, iGate Inc., to conduct business in Nigeria.

It is unclear if any of that money was delivered to the vice president’s home, and his possible role is described only by Jefferson in wiretaps the FBI made.

According to another search warrant affidavit for Jefferson’s congressional office, filed last month, $90,000 in cash was found in a freezer at Jefferson’s Washington home. A briefcase similar to the one Jefferson is alleged to have used to carry the money was found in a later search of his New Orleans home, according to federal court documents filed there.

The 39-page affidavit released Monday in Maryland, some sections of which remain sealed, does not mention Abubakar by name. But it does identify the Potomac home as the residence of Jennifer Douglas, Abubakar’s wife. It also refers to “the vice president of Nigeria” when detailing the alleged scheme. Although the search of the Potomac residence was mentioned in documents previously released by the courts, names and titles were blacked out to keep them secret.

Jefferson has denied wrongdoing.

And why is this MORON still sitting on the House Ways and Means Committee?

The GOP House Majority should vote his ASS off this committee and begin expulsion hearings.

Ludicrous……

Captain Ed has More On Jefferson’s Corruption 

Seriously, this opens an entirely new dimension to the case against Jefferson. Using his seat to influence and be influenced by foreign powers borders on treason in a strict legal sense. If the FBI can prove that Jefferson cast votes or introduced legislation intending on bolstering his personal business relationship with the Nigerians, the Democrats have a huge scandal on their hands. The Times writes that this documentation suggests Jefferson was “aggressive seeking to lobby officials in Nigeria and other West African nations”, a mastery of understatement.

This stands in a completely different category of corruption altogether. The Democrats had better start cutting ties to Jefferson soon or risk having their biggest electoral strategy rendered null and void.

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Representative William Jefferson Watch: “Trying to Protect Their Own”

Representative William Jefferson Watch: Jefferson Refuses to Quit Ways and Means Committee

Representative William Jefferson Watch: GOP Challenges FBI Raid of Jefferson’s Office

Representative William Jefferson Watch: “There are Two Sides to Every Story”

Representative William Jefferson Watch: FBI has BRIBES on Tape

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