William “Cold Cash” Jefferson can stop worrying about congressional business and concentrate on explaining his freezer contents. Republican Anh “Joseph” Cao will replace Jefferson, representing the Louisiana district that includes most of New Orleans.

No link yet, nor confirmation on other sites, but Drudge has this:

Sources tell CBS NEWS that Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) will be indicted this afternoon on more than a dozen counts involving public corruption. Jefferson has been the subject of an ongoing probe in which FBI agents allegedly found more than 90-thousand dollars in cash in his freezer. The Justice Department is expected to unveil the charges later today.

I’ll keep looking for more.

UPDATE: From CBS News:

Sources tell CBS News that authorities are seeking an indictment against Congressman William Jefferson, D-La., on more than a dozen counts involving public corruption.

Jefferson has been the subject of a ongoing probe in which FBI agents allegedly found more than $90,000 in cash in his freezer.

CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports that the Justice Department is expected to unveil the charges later today.

’bout time.

UPDATE II: Ed Morrissey has this observation:

Now that the indictments will be filed, it will be interesting to see how the Democrats, and especially the CBC, will react. Will they attempt to distance themselves from Jefferson? Will they force him to step down from his committee assignments? My guess is — no.

UPDATE III: From the AP

A Justice Department official familiar with the case said the indictment outlining the evidence against Jefferson is more than an inch thick and charges the congressman with crimes that could keep him in prison for up to 200 years. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case.

Still no report from the Dem leadership. What form will that take, I wonder?

Others posting:
Jawa Report
Michelle Malkin
Pirate’s Cove
Blogs for Bush
Iowa Voice
Wizbang
Don Surber

I was going to do a serious post on the re-election of William Jefferson in Louisiana until I read the closing paragraph of this AP story.

Before the bribery scandal erupted, Jefferson had climbed to the pinnacle of the Democratic Party. He was a confidant of former President Bill Clinton.

That’s the pinnacle? Man, that’s just too funny.

So says Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan who issued the original warrant.

He rejected requests from lawmakers and Democratic Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record) to return material seized by the FBI in a May 20-21 search of Jefferson’s office.

In a 28-page opinion, Hogan dismissed arguments that the first-ever raid on a congressman’s office violated the Constitution’s protections against intimidation of elected officials.

Jefferson’s theory of legislative privilege “would have the effect of converting every congressional office into a taxpayer-subsidized sanctuary for crime,” the judge said.

So far I haven’t seen any reaction from members of Congress. Of course when the warrant was first executed in May they had plenty to say. I posted on it here:

The latest pronouncement from On High has me reaching for my Glenn Beck™ Duct Tape.

“The Justice Department must immediately return the papers it unconstitutionally seized,” House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement.

After that, they said, Democratic Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana must cooperate with the Justice Department’s bribery investigation against him.

The leaders also said the Justice Department should not look at the documents or give them to investigators in the Jefferson case.

What makes sense to me (and I am as far from a lawyer as you can get), reading part of the opinion posted at The Volokh Conspiracy, was this:

The Speech or Debate Clause is not undermined by the mere incidental review of privileged legislative material, given that Congressman Jefferson may never be questioned regarding his legitimate legislative activities, is immune from civil or criminal liability for those activities, and no privileged material may ever be used against him in court.

This seems to be a sensible, reasoned interpretation of The Speech and Debate Clause. Jefferson’s legal team, of course, disagrees.

Because Hogan signed the search warrant authorizing the search, Jefferson’s legal team was not surprised by his ruling upholding it.

“While a Congressman is not above the law, the executive branch must also follow the law,” said Jefferson’s lawyer, Robert Trout. “We appreciate the consideration the judge accorded our motion for the return of the seized property, but we respectfully disagree with his conclusion, and we intend to appeal the ruling.”

So it will probably still be a while before we learn what was found in Congressman Jefferson’s office.

Also Posting:
Captain’s Quarters
Sister Toldjah
Iowa Voice
PoliBlog
GOP Bloggers
Ankle Biting Pundits
Flopping Aces

That’s what William Jefferson said he delivered to Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Rep. William Jefferson called the package he allegedly delivered at midnight to the suburban Maryland home of Nigeria’s vice president “African art.” Authorities say the “art” was meant to be cash – lots of it.

Court documents filed in the bribery probe of the Louisiana Democrat allege that Jefferson told an FBI informant he took the “art,” which authorities believe was code for $100,000 in $100 bills, to the Potomac home of Atiku Abubakar on July 31.

I guess this is what constitutes African Art now.

UPDATE: Lorie Byrd has a post talking about how Dems want Jefferson to step down from the Ways and Means Committee. (Thanks for the link, Lorie)

By the way, if anyone wants to drop a bit of “African Art” in the tip jar, that would be just fine.

UPDATE II: Dr. Shackleford is having issues spending too much “African Art” on his bathroom remodel. If that’s the case he needs to keep the Mrs. away from this. In any case, thanks for the link.

Why did the FBI and the Justice Department feel it was necessary to seize documents from William Jefferson’s Congressional office? Maybe this makes it clearer.

The Justice Department vigorously defended Tuesday the recent weekend raid of Rep. William Jefferson’s Capitol Hill office as part of a bribery investigation, asserting that the Democratic lawmaker tried to hide documents from FBI agents while they were searching his New Orleans home in August.

The government questioned in a 34-page motion filed in U.S. District Court here whether it could have obtained all the materials it had sought in a subpoena if it hadn’t raided Jefferson’s congressional office May 20. According to the government filing, an FBI agent caught Jefferson slipping documents into a blue bag in the living room of his New Orleans home during a search.

“It is my belief that when Congressman Jefferson placed documents into the blue bag, he was attempting to conceal documents that were relevant to the investigation,” FBI agent Stacey Kent of New Orleans said in an affidavit that was part of the government’s court submission. The document was filed in response to Jefferson’s suit demanding that the government return to him documents seized during the raid on his Capitol Hill office 10 days ago.

Gee, ya think?

While the leadership from both parties are having hissie fits over this, some members of Congress are looking at this through the eyes of the average voter.

The Speaker’s decision to challenge the constitutionality of the FBI search has not been politically popular among some members of his own Republican Conference. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.) announced last week that she would introduce a resolution when Congress resumes next week stating that members “are not above the law” and should not be able to hide information in their congressional offices.

During a closed-door session to discuss the issue last week, a handful of members raised concerns about whether or not Hastert had done the right thing in protesting the search, according to members in attendance. Even some of the Speaker’s supporters expressed frustration that he and the other leaders did a bad job explaining the constitutional protections involved to members and the media before it exploded in the press.

“I don’t know how you could sell it,” Brown-Waite said yesterday. “There is no way to spin it that it wouldn’t look like anything but a special privilege.”

In other words, you can call a cow pie a steak all day long, but that’s not going to make it taste any better.

No coffee can be good in the mouth that does not first send a sweet offering of odour to the nostrils. ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Happy Blogiversary to The Florida Masochist

Home of the Knucklehead of the Day

Outside The Beltway (James Joyner) AG and FBI Director Threatened Resignation — “I’m glad to see someone had some backbone in this matter. To have thrown away evidence against a corrupt congressman obtained through a legal raid backed by a judicial warrant out of political appeasement would have been outrageous. Separation of powers or no, Congress is not above the law.”

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Hastert Grabs The Lifesaver As Gonzalez Threatens To Quit — “Until now, Gonzalez has always appeared to be a moderate, get-along-to-go-along political appointee. However, this shows that the AG has serious backbone and integrity to spare. He and Mueller both understood the stakes involved in this standoff and refused to participate in creating a political class insulated from law enforcement. Without the power to enforce and execute duly authorized subpoenas and search warrants, members of Congress could hide evidence of corruption in their offices with no fear of exposure or prosecution. It would create a taxpayer-funded sanctuary for crooks, and the top officials at Justice sent the message that they would not become accessories to that system.”

Dr. Sanity (Pat Santy) A WAR TO BE PROUD OF — “Especially this weekend, though, we should be remembering the achievement our military has had in crushing the Taliban and Saddam Hussein. That we have stayed on to offer a new alternative other than autocracy and theocracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, and kept a targeted United States safe from attack for over four years is an incredible accomplishment.”

The Jawa Report (Dr. Rusty Shackleford) A Memorial Day Reflection: Thank You Grandpa — “I never knew my maternal grandfather, but I am proud of his voluntary service and of his supreme sacrifice to our country. RIP.

To my paternal grandfather, who was a pilot in WWII, and a career Air Force officer, thank you for your service. RIP.

To my father who was a Marine–once a Marine, always a Marine–thank you for your service. To my niece, currently a Marine, may God’s protection and blessings be upon you in the service of your country.”

The drink that comforteth the brain and heart and helpeth digestion. ~ Sir Francis Bacon

Captain’s Quarter (Ed Morrissey) Post: Hastert, Boehner Have No Clue — “It increasingly appears that the only principle at stake in this debate is the silly pursuit of any and all privileges that any tradition might grant legislators. The assertions by Congressional leadership would set lawmakers above the laws they impose on the citizens of the nation and ensure that they remain safe from detection and accountability of corruption. That would guarantee an explosion of bribery and schemery on Capitol Hill, fueled by our tax dollars and protected by a ridiculous interpretation of the Constitution.”

Wizbang (Jay Tea) Laying the groundwork for a pyrrhic victory — “All Congress is doing, with all these protests and demands, is provoking the American people to ask just what the hell they are trying to hide. And while that might be a good strategy in court, where one has the presumption of innocence enforced by law, it won’t do them a damned bit of good in the court of public opinion.”

Ankle Biting Pundits (Bulldogpundit) Same Old Senate — “[F]or the life of me I can’t understand why a REPUBLICAN controlled Senate would would pass such a terrible immigration bill and one that is certain to further raise the ire of already upset conservatives. Can someone please explain to me why many Republican senators are not willing to consider a border security measure on a stand-alone basis and leave any questions of amnesty until later. I think the answer to that question is that they know amnesty will fail.”

I’ll be away until later this afternoon. See you then.

I am unhappy with the continual wasteful spending. The lack of progress securing our borders is a constant theme here. But the latest, the “We are above the law” attitude has my blood boiling.

The latest pronouncement from On High has me reaching for my Glenn Beck™ Duct Tape.

“The Justice Department must immediately return the papers it unconstitutionally seized,” House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement.

After that, they said, Democratic Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana must cooperate with the Justice Department’s bribery investigation against him.

The leaders also said the Justice Department should not look at the documents or give them to investigators in the Jefferson case.

Not all the members are as clueless as the leadership.

“These self-serving separation of power arguments” have no basis in law, said Sen. David Vitter, R-La., in a letter to GOP leaders. He noted that search warrants had previously been served on members’ homes, including Jefferson’s.

“A distinction that would treat searches in their offices completely differently is superficial and baseless,” Vitter wrote. “The American people will come to one conclusion — that congressional leaders are trying to protect their own from valid investigations.” [my emphasis]

That’s the only conclusion I can come to.

Matt Margolis blogging at GOP Bloggers puts it this way:

I’m sorry, but invoking the principal of Separation of Powers is just a fancy way of saying they think Congress should be above the law.

And he’s right

William Jefferson has refused the request from House leader Nancy Pelosi to resign his seat on the Ways and Means Committee.

Democrats sought to get embattled Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record) to resign his seat on the House’s most prestigious committee.

“In the interest of upholding the high ethical standard of the House Democratic Caucus, I am writing to request your immediate resignation from the Ways and Means Committee,” wrote House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi in the one-sentence correspondence.

The Louisiana Democrat was defiant.

“With respect, I decline to do so,” he wrote back to Pelosi.”I will not give up a committee assignment that is so vital to New Orleans at this crucial time for any uncertain, long-term political strategy.”

Members of Congress have come together to denounce the search of Jefferson’s office on the grounds of separation of powers. But I think that such an argument is going to play pretty poorly in light of the image many Americans have about politicians. Sister Toldjah put it this way:

Congress may have their heart in the right place here with respect to their concerns on the separation of power argument, but before they flip out like Newt Gingrich, Hastert, and others have done, they might want to learn more about what led up to this before they start making sweeping assertions about this being a violation of separation of powers.

She then points to this post at Gateway Pundit which adds,

Could there have been… anything that would have played better into the Democratic mantra of a corrupt and executive power-abusing Bush White House more than Dennis Hastert’s response to the news of Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-LA) outrageous freezer-foil bribery scandal?

Just wondering.

Yesterday, Dennis Hastert was able to diffuse the swarm of media attention surrounding one of the most outrageous bribery cases in US history by taking the focus off of the perpetrating freezer-cash-stashing democrat, William Jefferson (D-LA), and placing the focus squarely on the back of President George Bush.

This will look like Congress covering up for one of their own among those who don’t pay much attention to politics. For those who are more politically aware it goes even further. Here’s Captain Ed’s take:

This can’t be the same Congress that issues subpoenas for all sorts of probes into the executive branch and the agencies it runs. Does Congress really want to establish a precedent that neither branch has to answer subpoenas if issued by the other, even if approved by a judge — which this particular subpoena was?

The FBI had a valid subpoena for the information in Jefferson’s office. He refused to provide it. The FBI had little choice but to go in and take it, and from the description given in the Washington Post, they took extraordinary care not to confiscate legitimate data relating to his legislative responsibilities.

and further,

Hastert and Boehner had better reconsider this fight. Not only is it a loser legally, but it’s also political suicide. They shouldn’t need the Supreme Court to laugh them into oblivion to comprehend the magnitude of this mistake. [my emphasis]

The entire situation is pretty one sided. 535 MOC and their staffs are about the sum total of those who are distressed with the search. Dafydd at Big Lizards puts it clearly:

The Lords of the District are offended that they may actually be required to suffer under the very laws they enacted for the peóns. How crass and vulgar! The “larger separation of powers principle” evidently also takes precedence over the people’s business — bills on immigration, confirmation of judges and the Director of the CIA, the war, taxes, energy exploration, and every other piece o’legislation that was let hang fire while Congress roared about laws that were a bit too universal.

The American people don’t understand that. But even if you explained it to them, which do you think would concern them more: that Congressmen got their knickers in a twist over being searched (with a search warrant)? Or that Congressmen were taking massive bribes to conspire against the general welfare?

Hmmmmm. Tough question.

I have to add this from Confederate Yankee:

One does not need to graduate from a top flight law school to easily discern in the passage above that the commission of a felony is specifically cited as one of three exemptions from the privilege from arrest. The charges being pursued against Jefferson are indeed felony charges.

The “speech and debate” clause only applies to a Congressman’s official duties, and if Hastert, Boehner and other congressmen think that accepting bribes is part of their official duties, then perhaps we need more search warrants executed on Congressional offices, not fewer. [my emphasis]

Heh. Yup.