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William J. Jefferson

legislator

Personal Information

Born on March 14, 1947, in Lake Providence, LA; son of a handyman; married to Andrea. Military Service: U.S. Army Reserves, 1969-78. Army Judge Advocate Corps, 1975. Religion: Baptist.
Education: Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, B.A., 1969; Harvard University, J.D., 1972; Georgetown University, LL.M., 1996.
Religion: Baptist.
Military/Wartime Service: U.S. Army Reserves, 1969-78. Army Judge Advocate Corps, 1975.

Career

United States Congressional Representative from Louisiana's Second District. Law clerk, U.S. District Judge Alvin Rubin, 1972-73; legislative aide, U.S. Senator Bennett Johnson, 1973-75; founding partner, law firm of Jefferson, Bryan and Gray, 1975-90; elected to Louisiana State Senate, 1979-90; elected to U.S. House of Representatives, 1990-; served on Ways and Means Committee.

Life's Work

Climbing from a childhood during which he would rise hours before the sun to pick cotton, William Jefferson became Louisiana's first African American representative in the U.S. Congress since the days of Reconstruction in the nineteenth century. A staunch supporter of President Bill Clinton, he was among the most influential of the southern African American Democrats who entered Congress in the 1990s. Jefferson, a survivor of Louisiana's rough-and-tumble politics, ran for governor of the state in 1999. Although he was not elected, his prospects for higher office seemed bright as the new millennium dawned.

William Jennings Jefferson was born in Lake Providence, Louisiana, on March 14, 1947. Lake Providence is in East Carroll Parish, one of the poorest counties in the United States, and Jefferson, the sixth of ten children, grew up in dire poverty. "When I got there, it was already crowded," he told Emerge magazine. He was put to work picking cotton at the age of seven, getting up at 3:15 a.m. and often working until midafternoon for a daily wage of three dollars. His father was a handyman who only had a second grade education.

Attended Southern University

Jefferson's mother, though, placed a high value on education, serving for 12 years as president of the local Parent-Teachers' Association. Through her efforts, all 10 Jefferson children attended college. William (familiarly known as Bill) went to Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, majoring in English and political science and graduating in 1969. He was accepted immediately at Harvard Law School and made short work of that challenging program, receiving his degree in 1972.

After graduating from law school, Jefferson landed a position in eastern Louisiana as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Alvin J. Rubin. He got his feet wet in politics as a legislative assistant to Democratic U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston. However, Jefferson returned to practicing law in 1976, and founded a new firm with several partners. The law firm of Jefferson, Bryan and Gray would become, in time, the largest African American law firm in the southern United States. In the 1970s, Jefferson also served in the U.S. Army Reserves and the Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps.

As African American lawmakers began to make modest inroads into southern state legislatures in the 1970s, Jefferson gravitated back to the political arena. Elected to the Louisiana state senate in 1979, he twice won re-election to four-year terms, and rose to the chairmanship of the Senate's Governmental Affairs Committee. A resident of New Orleans, he twice ran for mayor in that city, losing both times but gaining wider name recognition. His chance for higher office came in 1990, when New Orleans's longtime U.S. House Representative, Lindy Boggs, decided to retire. Louisiana's Second District has boundaries close to those of the predominantly African American city of New Orleans.

Endorsed by New Orleans Mayor

Several of the most prominent names in African American Louisiana politics jumped into the race to succeed Boggs. Jefferson was endorsed by New Orleans mayor Sidney Barthelemy, but he faced staunch competition from Marc Morial, the son of New Orleans's first African American mayor, and later elected mayor of New Orleans himself. Jefferson led narrowly going into a November runoff election, and got his first taste of Louisiana-style campaigning when he was bruised by charges of having defaulted on mortgage loans; his campaign retaliated by publicizing the fact that Morial was the father of an eight-year-old girl living in Africa's Ivory Coast. Jefferson narrowly won the runoff election, becoming Louisiana's first African American U.S. Representative since Reconstruction.

In Congress, Jefferson has had a notable career in several respects. He was named to a seat on the Ways and Means Committee, the tax-writing body that is probably the most powerful among the various House committees, and has used his position there to benefit African American-owned small businesses. He has taken the lead on the issue of so-called "environmental racism" (a hotly contested issue in Louisiana especially), successfully heading off the construction of a potentially hazardous plastics plant near an African American community. In recent years, Jefferson has raised his voice to protest the "digital divide," the inequity between higher- and lower-income communities in availability of computers and access to the Internet. He has introduced legislation providing for tax breaks that would enable low-income families to purchase computer equipment.

As significant as any of Jefferson's legislative activities, though, was the success he had in breaking into Washington's corridors of power in the 1990s, an era of Democratic control in the White House. Jefferson emerged in 1991 as a strong supporter of Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton in his run for the presidency, and continued to work closely with Clinton on various initiatives throughout the latter's tenure as President. A member of the moderate Democratic Leadership Council, he has avoided some of the government-activist stands taken by other African American Democrats in Congress, tending instead to favor partnerships between the public and private sectors in addressing social problems.

Ran for Governor

As a result of his work with the national Democratic party (he served as Louisiana co-chair for the 1988 and 1992 Democratic presidential campaigns), and of his election to represent the state's largest city, Jefferson's name recognition across Louisiana began to rise. His ambitions toward higher office became clear early on, as he twice considered running for governor (in 1991 and 1995), withdrawing both times, and contemplated a U.S. Senate run in 1996. In 1999, Jefferson jumped into the gubernatorial race once again, challenging incumbent Republican governor Mike Foster. Unlike the African American Democratic candidate who ran in 1995, Jefferson had the support of Louisiana's largely white-dominated Democratic organization.

Although Foster was tainted by the revelation that he had purchased voter mailing lists from Louisiana politician and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, Jefferson largely avoided this negative issue in his own campaign, instead framing the choice in economic terms. "He's on the side of big business," Jefferson was quoted as saying in Emerge. "I'm on the side of working families and small entrepreneurs." Jefferson raised an impressive war chest of $2.2 million for the campaign, but his challenge to Foster was blunted by the presence of fringe candidates in the race, including one who went by the name of Messiah and spoke in tongues.

In the October 1999 election, Jefferson came out on the losing end of a 62 to 30 percent margin, with Louisiana's still heavily polarized electorate splitting largely along racial lines. However, the off-year election allowed Jefferson to keep his Congressional seat, and national observers were hardly discounting his future chances. The Almanac of American Politics noted that "one statewide campaign might lead to another, with better prospects for success." The father of five daughters, three of whom had already followed him to Harvard, Jefferson at the turn of the century seemed one of the brightest stars in African American politics.

Further Reading

Books

  • Barone, Michael, and Grant Ujifusa, The Almanac of American Politics: 2000. National Journal, 1999.
  • Henderson, Ashyia N., and Shirelle Phelps, eds., Who's Who among African Americans. 12th ed. Gale, 1999.
Periodicals
  • Black Enterprise, May 1997, p. 20.
  • Emerge, October 1999, p. 26.
  • Jet, October 18, 1999, p. 35.
Other
  • Additional information for this profile was obtained from http://www.house.gov/jefferson/ and http://www.nationaljournal.com (book purchase required).

— James M. Manheim

 
 
Wikipedia: William J. Jefferson


Bill Jefferson
William J. Jefferson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Louisiana's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office 
January 3, 1991
Preceded by Lindy Boggs
Succeeded by Incumbent
Born March 14 1947 (1947--) (age 60)
Lake Providence, Louisiana
Political party Democratic
Spouse Andrea Jefferson
Religion Baptist

William Jennings Jefferson (born March 14, 1947) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Louisiana. A Democrat, Jefferson has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1991. He represents Louisiana's 2nd congressional district, which includes much of the greater New Orleans area. He is Louisiana's first black Congressman since the end of Reconstruction.[1]

Jefferson was videotaped accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from a Northern Virginia investor who was wearing an FBI wire, according to a search warrant affidavit. A few days later, on Aug. 3, 2005, FBI agents raided Jefferson's home in Northeast Washington and found $90,000 of the cash in the freezer, in $10,000 increments wrapped in aluminum foil and stuffed inside frozen-food containers. The money was said to have been "fresh and still crisp" due to the containers. He is currently the subject of a corruption probe, and in May 2006 his Congressional offices were raided

Despite his legal woes, in the midterm election on November 7, 2006, Jefferson received 30% of the vote against several opponents, and then proceeded to win in a runoff election against Louisiana State Representative Karen Carter on December 9, 2006.

On June 4, 2007, a federal grand jury indicted Jefferson on 16 charges related to corruption;[2] if convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.[3]

Early life and career

Jefferson was born in Lake Providence, a small town in East Carroll Parish in far northeastern Louisiana, where he and his eight brothers and sisters worked alongside their father, who was a sharecropper and a heavy-equipment operator for the Army Corps of Engineers.

Though neither of his parents had graduated from high school, Jefferson graduated from G.W. Griffin High School in Lake Providence and received a bachelor's degree from Southern University, where in 1969 he led a protest against substandard campus facilities and negotiated with then-Governor John McKeithen. He later earned a law degree from Harvard University in 1972 and an LLM in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in 1996. After graduation, he became a law clerk for Judge Alvin B. Rubin of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana from 1972 to 1973, and a lawyer with a private practice. From 1973 to 1975, he was a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., of Louisiana. He moved to New Orleans in 1976 and was elected as a member of the Louisiana Senate in 1980, where he served until 1991. He twice unsuccessfully ran for New Orleans mayor, first challenging Ernest N. Morial in the election of 1982, and then being defeated by Sidney Barthelemy in the mayoral runoff of 1986.[4] In 1990 William Jefferson was elected to the House, becoming the first black member of Congress from Louisiana since Reconstruction. In the House, Jefferson joined the Congressional Black Caucus.[5]

Local influence

Jefferson and his family control one of the most sophisticated and effective get-out-the-vote organizations in South Louisiana: the Progressive Democrats. In 2002, their political machine helped Jefferson's protégée Renée Gill Pratt being elected as a Councilmember, even though it was unable to ensure that Jefferson's daughter Jalila would succeed Pratt as a Representative to the Louisiana State House. It also contributed to the election of Jefferson's sister Betty as a municipal assessor, in 1998, 2002 and 2006.

In recent years, New Orleans-based political machines in general have lost clout. This trend has accelerated since thousands of New Orleanians were scattered across the United States, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The influence of the Progressive Democrats in particular may be compromised even more by the current corruption investigation that affects Jefferson.

Actions following Hurricane Katrina

Jefferson has received criticism for his actions in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Five days after the hurricane made landfall, under his authority as a congressman Jefferson utilized a National Guard detachment to recover personal effects and belongings from his home.[6] After the truck in which he and the detachment traveled became stuck, further National Guard resources were expended (amidst ongoing search and rescue operations) to aid the original detachment, including a second truck and helicopter.

Corruption investigation

Jefferson has been under investigation by the FBI for suspected corruption since March 2005. Since that time, he has been named in the guilty pleas of two associates. On 15 May 2006, Jefferson called a press conference at which he announced that he did not intend to resign, despite expecting to be indicted on corruption charges. On 20 May 2006, Jefferson's Congressional offices were searched by the FBI, "believed to be the first-ever FBI raid on a Congressional office,"[7] raising concerns that it could "set a dangerous precedent that could be used by future administrations to intimidate or harass a supposedly coequal branch of the government."[8] See below.

An investigation of Jefferson by various agencies began in mid-2005, after an investor came to authorities. Jefferson is alleged to have received over $400,000 in bribes through a company maintained in the name of his spouse and children. The money came from a tech company named iGate, Inc. of Louisville, Kentucky, and in return, it is alleged, Jefferson would help iGate's business. Jefferson was to persuade the U.S. Army to test iGate's broadband two-way technology and other iGate products; use his efforts to influence, possibly through bribery, high-ranking officials in Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon; and meet with personnel of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, in order to facilitate potential financing for iGate business deals in those countries.[9]

FBI investigation of bribery and fraud

On 30 July 2005, Jefferson was videotaped by the FBI receiving $100,000 worth of $100 bills in a leather briefcase at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Arlington, Virginia.[10] Jefferson told an investor, Lori Mody, who was wearing a wire, that he would need to give Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar $500,000 "as a motivating factor" to make sure they obtained contracts for iGate and Mody's company in Nigeria.[11]

New Orleans Mardi Gras float satirizing Jefferson
Enlarge
New Orleans Mardi Gras float satirizing Jefferson

A few days later, on 3 August 2005, FBI agents raided Jefferson's home in Northeast Washington and, as noted in an 83-page affidavit filed to support a subsequent raid on his Congressional office, "found $90,000 of the cash in the freezer, in $10,000 increments wrapped in aluminum foil and stuffed inside frozen-food containers." Serial numbers found on the currency in the freezer matched serial numbers of funds given by the FBI to their informant.

Late in the night of 20 May 2006, FBI agents executed a search warrant[12] at Jefferson's office in the Rayburn House Office Building.

The affidavit used to support these raids included, among other allegations:

  • The FBI videotaped Jefferson receiving a stock certificate from Mody for a company set up in Nigeria to promote iGate's technology. Jefferson predicted the deal would generate $200 million annually after five years.
  • Jefferson told Mody that he wanted a similar financial stake in the business in Ghana.
  • Jefferson sought $10 million in financing from Mody to take over iGate and install "confidants" on the new board. In two payments, Mody wired $89,225 to the ANJ Group LLC, a company controlled by Jefferson's family.
  • Jefferson lent $4,800 of the money Mody gave him to an unnamed congressional aide. Another $4,900 was given back to the FBI by one of Jefferson's attorneys.
  • The FBI claims it has uncovered "at least seven other schemes in which Jefferson sought things of value in return for his official acts."[13]

Former aides plead guilty

In January 2006, Brett M. Pfeffer, a former aide to Jefferson, implicated him in a corruption scheme involving an Internet company being set up in Nigeria. Pfeffer was president of an investment company in McLean, Virginia. In return for political support for the deal, Jefferson had legal work directed toward his family's operations. It was also said that a daughter of his was put on retainer of the Virginia investment company to the tune of $5,000 a month. Jefferson also is said to have arranged for his family a 5% to 7% ownership stake in the Nigerian Internet company. Pfeffer pled guilty to charges of aiding and abetting bribery of a public official and conspiracy on 11 January 2006 in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.[14] On May 26, he was sentenced to eight years, but was "cooperating in an ongoing probe and may be eligible for a sentence reduction afterward", according to a prosecutor.[15]

On 3 May 2006 Vernon Jackson, 53, CEO of Louisville, Kentucky based iGate Inc., admitted to bribery of a public official and conspiracy to bribe a public official during a plea hearing in U.S. District Court. According to the Associated Press, "court documents make clear that Congressman William Jefferson (Democrat-Louisiana) is the accused congressman, without naming him." Jackson's plea bargain requires his cooperation in the ongoing investigation against the congressman he admits bribing. The total amount of the bribes is between $400,000 and $1 million, according to court documents of the Jackson proceeding.[16] On September 8, Jackson was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in jail.[17]

Congressional office raid

The May 20 raid of Jefferson's office in Room 2113 of the Rayburn House Office Building set off a series of political events. Jefferson immediately challenged the action in federal court. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi issued "a rare joint statement demanding that the FBI return the documents and saying that Jefferson then should cooperate more fully with the investigation."[18] "Many Republicans and Democrats contend that the unprecedented raid on a congressional office was unduly aggressive and may have breached the constitutional separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government that are meant to shelter lawmakers from administrative intimidation."[19] Tensions escalated to the point where, according to AP, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, his deputy, Paul McNulty, and possibly FBI Director Robert Mueller "were said to be ready to quit if the Justice Department was asked to return the Jefferson documents...[while the] House was threatening to go after the Justice Department's budget."[20]

On May 25, President Bush stepped in, taking the extraordinary step of "directing the Department of Justice to seal all the materials recovered from Congressman Jefferson's office for the next 45 days and not to allow access to anyone involved in the investigation."[21]

While members of the Senate seemed to take a more measured view of the raid,[22] on 30 May 2006, Representative James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, began to hold hearings, called "Reckless Justice: Did the Saturday Night Raid of Congress Trample the Constitution?", on the "profoundly disturbing" questions that he said the Justice Department's actions raised.

The FBI, in answering Jefferson's complaint of the raid, attached an FBI agent's affidavit claiming that the raid was necessary because while the FBI was searching his home in August, Jefferson tried to "surreptitiously remove" documents.[23]

An ABC News poll released 1 June 2006 found 86% of Americans supported the FBI's right to search congressional offices when they obtain a warrant.[24]

On July 10, 2006, Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled the FBI raid on Jefferson's office was legal,[25] rejecting his and the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives claim that the search violated the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause, separation of powers principle and Fourth Amendment. Chief Judge Hogan, in a 28-page ruling, acknowledged that the "facts and questions of law presented here are indeed unprecedented," but wrote that it is "well-established" that a Congressman is "generally bound to the operation of the criminal laws as are ordinary persons," and the Speech or Debate Clause does not "make Members of Congress super-citizens, immune from criminal responsibility.'"[26] Hogan, in his conclusion, wrote:

"The existing broad protections of the Speech or Debate Clause – absolute immunity from prosecution or suit for legislative acts and freedom from being 'questioned' about those acts (including privilege from the testimonial act of producing documents in response to a subpoena) – satisfy the fundamental purpose of the Clause to protect the independence of the legislature. The Court declines to extend those protections further, holding that the Speech or Debate Clause does not shield Members of Congress from the execution of valid search warrants. Congressman Jefferson's interpretation of the Speech or Debate privilege would have the effect of converting every congressional office into a taxpayer-subsidized sanctuary for crime. Such a result is not supported by the Constitution or judicial precedent and will not be adopted here. See Williamson v. United States, 28 S. Ct. at 167 ('[T]he laws of this country allow no place or employment as a sanctuary for crime.') (quotation omitted).[27]

However, later that same month, a three-judge appellate panel unanimously overruled Hogan's decision and affirmed that the Department of Justice could not review Rep. Jefferson's files until he had seen what files were taken and which of those pertained to his work as a legislator. The appellate court directed that Hogan, the judge who originally authorized the controversial search and seizure, should determine if Jefferson's claims of legislative privilege extend to specific seized files that the lawmaker may cite.[28]

Stripped of committee membership

On May 24, 2006, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi publicly requested Jefferson's immediate resignation from the House Ways and Means Committee, but he declined to step down.[29] Although Mel Watt, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, declared the strong support of the caucus for Jefferson it has since been reported that two prominent members of the caucus, John Lewis (D-GA) and Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) have played a major role in the campaign to force Jefferson to step down.[30]

On 15 June 2006, House Democrats voted to strip Jefferson of his committee assignment while the federal bribery investigation continued. Despite claims of the Congressional Black Caucus that Jefferson was being treated unfairly, the vote passed 99-58. Some have reported that the vote was passed as a result of Democrats who are determined to make an election-year point about ethics. The full House, which is the only group with the power to actually remove Jefferson, then stripped him of his seat on the committee on June 16 in a voice vote without debate. Jefferson had offered to step aside temporarily if the Democratic caucus established a rule concerning cases like his and if his seat went to Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA). This offer was rejected by House Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi.[31]

2006 Election

Main article: Louisiana House elections, 2006

Due to the loss of his seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, Jefferson has a significantly reduced influence in the capital and faced an uphill battle to keep his seat in Congress, during the 2006 U.S. Midterm Election. Eight Democrats, three Republicans and one Libertarian candidate ran against him.[32]

A significant amount of the district’s voters were still scattered across the United States as a result of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Many of them were Black and supported the Democrats. Nonetheless, the district remained so heavily Democratic that it was taken for granted that a Democrat would retain the seat.

None of the candidates obtained more than 50% of the vote on the first ballot (November 7, 2006) and, therefore, a second ballot was necessary. The two candidates who survived the first ballot were both black Democrats: Jefferson, who got 30% of the vote, and State Representative Karen Carter, who enjoyed support from the Louisiana Democratic Party’s establishment, picked up nearly all endorsements from local politicians and the local press and gathered 22% of the vote.[33]

Political commentators predicted an easy victory for Carter on the second ballot (to be held on December 9, 2006).[34] In the last week of campaign however, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee, a law and order Democrat who wields tremendous influence in his parish, urged voters not to vote for Carter. In response to Carter's criticism of Gretna police officers and Jefferson Parish deputies, who blocked the Crescent City Connection and prevented evacuees from fleeing New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina, Lee mailed out 25,000 flyers and made public statements attacking Carter.[35]

Lee’s efforts to defeat Carter were successful. White voters from Jefferson Parish, a group that had not shown much enthusiasm for Bill Jefferson’s reelection on the first ballot, stayed home rather than vote against him. Voter turnout dwindled from 24.15% to 16.25%. While residents of the city of New Orleans gave Jefferson a slight majority over Carter, (51% to 49%), the Jefferson Parish share of the district voted for Jefferson by a staggering 71% to 29%, clearly swinging the election in his favor.

Following Jefferson's reelection, Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi announced that he will not regain his seat on the Ways and Means Committee as long as he is not "cleared of wrongdoing in an ongoing federal corruption probe".[36]

Federal Indictment

On June 4, 2007 Jefferson was indicted on 16 counts in a 94-page indictment that included charges of racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. If convicted, he faces a possible maximum sentence of 235 years.[37][38]

His lawyer Robert Trout said of the charges, "Congressman Jefferson is innocent. He plans to fight this indictment and clear his name."[39]

House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) issued the following statement regarding Jefferson's indictment:

"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.
"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."[40]

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) will ask the ethics committee to review the federal indictment in order to seek Jefferson's expulsion from Congress.[41]

On June 8, 2007, Jefferson pleaded not guilty to the indictment. After the hearing, Jefferson said, "I am absolutely innocent of the charges that have been leveled against me. I'm going to fight my heart out to clear my name." He further explained, "The $90,000 was the FBI's money. The FBI gave it to me as part of its plan — part of their plan — that I would give it to the Nigerian vice president, but I did not do that. When all the facts are understood, I trust that I will be vindicated."[42]

Nickname

In the wake of the corruption investigation, the New Orleans media often refers to the congressman as Dollar Bill Jefferson. According to Conservative political commentator Jeff Crouere, he "received his unflattering nickname from the late Ernest “Dutch” Morial." [43] It seems that "Morial had asked his protégé for some legal work and was given it — along with a staggering bill. Outraged, Morial coined the nickname."[44]

The magazine Rolling Stone listed him as the fourth-worst member of the House and gave him the nickname "Bribe Taker".[45]

Various bloggers have come up with nicknames of their own. These include, but are not limited to, "Mr. Freeze" and "Cold Cash Jefferson". In 2000, however, Jefferson was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.[46]

Electoral history

Mayor of New Orleans, 1982

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, February 6, 1982

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Ernest Morial Democratic 75,929 (47%) Runoff
Ron Faucheux Democratic 73,441 (45%) Runoff
Bill Jefferson Democratic 11,327 (7%) Defeated
Others n.a. 1,164 (1%) Defeated

Second Ballot, March 20, 1982

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Ernest Morial Democratic 100,703 (53%) Elected
Ron Faucheux Democratic 88,583 (47%) Defeated

Mayor of New Orleans, 1986

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, February 1, 1986

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Bill Jefferson Democratic 62,333 (39%) Runoff
Sidney Barthelemy Democratic 53,961 (33%) Runoff
Sam LeBlanc Democratic 40,963 (25%) Defeated
Others n.a. 4,372 (3%) Defeated

Second Ballot, March 1, 1986

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Sidney Barthelemy Democratic 93,050 (58%) Elected
Bill Jefferson Democratic 67,680 (42%) Defeated

State Senator, 1987

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 24, 1987

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Bill Jefferson Democratic No Opponents Elected

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 1990

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 6, 1990

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Bill Jefferson Democratic 32,237 (24%) Runoff
Marc Morial Democratic 29,366 (22%) Runoff
Jon Johnson Democratic 25,468 (19%) Defeated
Woody Koppel Democratic 24,175 (18%) Defeated
Others n.a. 20,800 (17%) Defeated

Second Ballot, November 6, 1990

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Bill Jefferson Democratic 55,239 (52%) Elected
Marc Morial Democratic 50,232 (48%) Defeated

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 1992

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 3, 1992

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Bill Jefferson Democratic 67,030 (73%) Elected
Wilma Knox Irvin Democratic 14,121 (15%) Defeated
Roger Johnson Independent 10,090 (11%) Defeated

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 1994

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 1, 1994

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Bill Jefferson Democratic 60,906 (78%) Elected
Bob Namer Republican 15,113 (19%) Defeated
Others n.a. 5,549 (3%) Defeated

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 1996

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, September 21, 1996

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Bill Jefferson Democratic No Opponents Elected

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 1998

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, November 3, 1998

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Bill Jefferson Democratic 102,247 (78%) Elected
David Reed Democratic 10,803 (9%) Defeated
Don-Terry Veal Democratic 5,899 (5%) Defeated

Governor of Louisiana, 1999

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 23, 1999

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Mike Foster Republican 805,203 (62%) Elected
Bill Jefferson Democratic 382,445 (30%) Defeated
Others n.a. 107,557 (8%) Defeated

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 2000

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, November 7, 2000

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Bill Jefferson Democratic No Opponents Elected

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 2002

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, November 5, 2002

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Bill Jefferson Democratic 90,310 (64%) Elected
Irma Muse Dixon Democratic 28,480 (20%) Defeated
Silky Sullivan Republican 15,440 (11%) Defeated
Others n.a. 7,926 (5%) Defeated

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 2004

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, November 2, 2004

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Bill Jefferson Democratic 173,510 (79%) Elected
Art Schwertz Republican 46,097 (21%) Defeated

U. S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District, 2006

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, November 7, 2006

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Bill Jefferson Democratic 27,706 (30%) Runoff
Karen Carter Democratic 19,972 (22%) Runoff
Derrick Shepherd Democratic 16,621 (18%) Defeated
Joe Lavigne Republican 12,405 (13%) Defeated
Troy Carter Democratic 11,052 (12%) Defeated
Others n.a. 4,661 (5%) Defeated

Second Ballot, December 9, 2006

Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome
Bill Jefferson Democratic 35,153 (57%) Elected
Karen Carter Democratic 27,011 (43%) Defeated

Footnotes

  1. ^ Murray, Shailagh and Lengel, Allan. "The Legal Woes Of Rep. Jefferson", Washington Post, 2006-02-16, p. A01. Retrieved on 2007-02-07. 
  2. ^ Johnston, David and Zeleny, Jeff. "Congressman Sought Bribes, Indictment Says", The New York Times, 2007-06-05. Retrieved on 2007-06-05. 
  3. ^ Rudin, Ken. "The Equal-Opportunity Culture of Corruption", NPR.org, 2007-06-06. Retrieved on 2007-07-29. 
  4. ^ Grady, Bill. "Mayor's runoff: one goal, two contenders." The New Orleans Times-Picayune, February 23, 1986.
  5. ^ bioguide.congress.gov JEFFERSON, William Jennings, (1947 - ). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.
  6. ^ Tapper, Jake. "Amid Katrina Chaos, Congressman Used National Guard to Visit Home", ABC News, 2005-09-13. Retrieved on 2006-02-07. 
  7. ^ Bresnahan, John. "FBI Raid Angers Some on Hill; Feds Probe Additional Jefferson ‘Schemes’", RollCall, 2006-05-21. Retrieved on 2007-02-06. 
  8. ^ Hulse, Carl. "F.B.I. Raid Divides G.O.P. Lawmakers and White House", New York Times, 2006-05-24, p. A01. Retrieved on 2007-02-07. 
  9. ^ Federal Bureau of Investigation (2006-05-03). FBI.Gov BUSINESSMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO PAYING BRIBES TO U.S. CONGRESSMAN. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  10. ^ Barakat, Matthew. "Filing: Tape Shows Lawmaker Taking Money", Associated Press, 2006-05-21. Retrieved on 2007-02-07. 
  11. ^ Lengel, Allan. "FBI Says Jefferson Was Filmed Taking Cash", Washington Post, 2006-05-21, p. A01. Retrieved on 2007-02-07. 
  12. ^ Affadavit and search warrant (1.25MB PDF)
  13. ^ nola.com
  14. ^ Ana Radelat, Gannett News Service, "Former congressional aide pleads guilty to bribery", 1/11/2006. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2006.
  15. ^ Barakat, Matthew. "Ex-Jefferson aide gets 8 years in bribery scheme", AP, May 26, 2006. 
  16. ^ FBI, "BUSINESSMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO PAYING BRIBES TO U.S. CONGRESSMAN", May 3, 2006. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2006.
  17. ^ Courier-Journal, "Broken link". Accessed Dec. 9, 2006.
  18. ^ "Bush orders documents seized in Capitol Hill search sealed", CNN
  19. ^ Shailagh Murray and Allan Lengel, Washington Post, May 25 2006
  20. ^ Reichman, Deb. "Threats Led Bush to Intervene in FBI Fight", AP, May 29 2006. 
  21. ^ Text of Bush's order to seal materials for 45 days
  22. ^ Romano, Lois. "Senate Leaders Profess Less Outrage on FBI Raid", Washington Post, May 29 2006, pp. A4. 
  23. ^ Justice Prosecutor's Response to Jefferson Request (2006). Retrieved on 2006-05-31.
  24. ^ Poll: Americans Support Searches; Public Sides With FBI in Congress Search Issue (2006). Retrieved on 2006-06-05.
  25. ^ Judge rules FBI raid on Hill office legal — Jerry Seper and Christina Bellantoni, Washington Times, July 11, 2006
  26. ^ IN RE: SEARCH OF THE RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING ROOM NUMBER 2113 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515 (2006). Retrieved on 2006-07-10., citing United States v. Brewster, 408 U.S. 501, 516.
  27. ^ IN RE: SEARCH OF THE RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING ROOM NUMBER 2113 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515 (2006). Retrieved on 2006-07-10.
  28. ^ Shenon, Philip. "Lawmaker Wins Delay On Review Of Evidence", New York Times, 2006-07-29, p. A10. Retrieved on 2007-02-07. 
  29. ^ chron.com article.
  30. ^ Edney, Hazel Trice. "Some CBC Members Secretly Trying to Oust Jefferson from Committee Post", Milwaukee Courier, 2006-06-13. Retrieved on 2007-02-07. 
  31. ^ MSNBC, "House lawmakers strip Jefferson of panel seat", June 16, 2006. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2006.
  32. ^ Phillips, Lauren. "Bribery Claims Fail to Keep Jefferson from Filing in La. 2", CQPolitics.com, August 9, 2006. 
  33. ^ "Democratic Party in La. Backs Rival Of Jefferson", Associated Press, October 15, 2006. 
  34. ^ "Jefferson's Dilemma", Gambit Weekly, November 21, 2006. 
  35. ^ "Harry Lee: Say No to Karen Carter", WWL-TV New Orleans, December 4, 2006. 
  36. ^ "Jefferson still off crucial committee", Times-Picayune, December 13, 2006. 
  37. ^ "Louisiana congressman indicted in bribery probe", AP, June 4, 2007. 
  38. ^ Jefferson Indictment, June 4, 2007, U.S. v. Jefferson, District Court for Eastern District of Virginia
  39. ^ "Congressman charged with taking bribes around the world", CNN, June 4, 2007. 
  40. ^ "House Speaker Pelosi statement of William Jefferson", WWLTV, June 4, 2007. 
  41. ^ "Boehner to call for ethics review of Jefferson", The Politico, June 4, 2007. 
  42. ^ "La. congressman pleads not guilty to bribery", Boston Globe, June 9, 2007. 
  43. ^ Crouere, Jeff. "Will "Dollar" Bill Jefferson Be Deposited In Jail?", Politics La.com, May 19, 2006. 
  44. ^ Cartledge, Dennis. "Dollar Bill: The Jefferson Files", GP Background Stories, June 5, 2006. 
  45. ^ [1]
  46. ^ http://www.cityofwinnfield.com/museum.html

External links


Preceded by
Frederick Eagan (D)		 Louisiana State Senator (Orleans Parish)

Bill Jefferson (D)
1980–1990

 Succeeded by
Diana Bajoie (D)
Preceded by
Lindy Boggs (D)		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
January 3, 1991 – present		 Incumbent
Louisiana's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators Mary Landrieu (D), David Vitter (R)
Representative(s) Bobby Jindal (R), William J. Jefferson (D), Charles Melancon (D), Jim McCrery (R), Rodney Alexander (R), Richard H. Baker (R), Charles Boustany (R)
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