Constance Ikokwu With Agency Report
9 June 2009
Washington, D.C. — Former United States congressman, William J. Jefferson, will defend himself today as the Alexandria Federal Court hears his case which involves fraud and graft allegations including a $100,000 bribe he claimed was meant for former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
Jefferson, who lost his legislative seat last year due to his tainted image, received the $100,000 marked notes from one Lori Mody, a Virginia businesswoman and government informant.
He promised the money would be used to bribe Atiku in order to lock up a business deal.
He was busted when $90,000 of the money was found by federal investigators in a wrapped aluminium foil in his freezer during a raid on his Capitol Hill apartment.
Jurors are expected to determine whether he was the ring leader in a scheme to bribe the former vice-president. Jefferson says he has an "honest explanation" for the money found in his apartment.
But his business associates - Vernon L. Jackson, owner of Kentucky Technology Firm iGate, and Brett Pfeffer - a former congressional aide, pleaded guilty in 2006 to bribery.
Both men are serving time in prison.
The former congressman is facing 16 criminal counts in a case that has uncovered his business deals across seven West African countries.
He faces charges of racketeering, obstruction of justice and money laundering.
He is accused of using his privileged office to make illicit gains from companies seeking business in Africa.
As co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Nigeria and African trade, the disgraced former congressman allegedly received kickbacks for facilitating businesses while failing to make an honest disclosure of his deals.
In the 94-page indictment sheet, federal authorities say Jefferson's bribery schemes included telecommunications deals in Nigeria and Ghana, oil concessions in Equatorial Guinea and waste-recycling systems in Nigeria.
The indictment revealed that he promoted international businesses using his official congressional letter head paper while at the same time hiding his personal interests in those deals.
Investigations trace his business meetings to Potomac, Maryland, McLean, New York, London and cities across Africa.
His lawyers claim he acted outside his congressional capacity as a businessman.
But the jury will decide if he was making personal benefits for himself and his family through his office as congressman.
The investigations into Jefferson's dealings came to a head in 2005 when federal agents searched his home, gathering documents, e-mails, faxes, and conversations with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant, Mody, who wore a recording device.
The case caused a row between the Justice Department and Congressional leaders who charged that documents in Jefferson's office were legislative materials and should not have been searched.
Jefferson sued the Justice Department. An appeals court ruled that it could review the documents to determine those connected with legislative work.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2009 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
One would think that Mr. Jefferson would have learned from former Senator Carol Mosley-Braun not to present an innocent face to the world while reaping illegal benefits in the back from her brethren’s oppressor. I hope the Congressman gets the justice he deserves and we all can learn that corruption further oppresses the world’s poorest amongst us. Thank you, FBI.