House Democrats strip Jefferson of committee post

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,199726,00.html

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats, determined to make an election-year point about ethics, voted to strip Rep. William Jefferson of his committee assignment Thursday night while a federal bribery investigation runs its course.

Members of the rank and file approved the move after Jefferson refused for weeks to step aside on his own, and despite claims by some members of the Congressional Black Caucus that he was being treated unfairly.

Officials said the vote was 99-58. The action must be ratified by the full House, and Jefferson left open the possibility that he might at long last relent and surrender the seat on his own. “I don’t want to speculate,” he said.

The session marked the culmination of a drive by the Democratic leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, to take action against the embattled Louisiana lawmaker, who maintains his innocence and has not been indicted.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,199726,00.html

House Dems Vote to Remove Jefferson from Committee Assignment
Thursday, June 15, 2006

WASHINGTON — House Democrats, determined to make an election-year point about ethics, voted to strip Rep. William Jefferson of his committee assignment Thursday night while a federal bribery investigation runs its course.

Members of the rank and file approved the move after Jefferson refused for weeks to step aside on his own, and despite claims by some members of the Congressional Black Caucus that he was being treated unfairly.

Officials said the vote was 99-58. The action must be ratified by the full House, and Jefferson left open the possibility that he might at long last relent and surrender the seat on his own. "I don't want to speculate," he said.

The session marked the culmination of a drive by the Democratic leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, to take action against the embattled Louisiana lawmaker, who maintains his innocence and has not been indicted. "This is not about a court of law. This is about a higher ethical standard, and you know when it isn't being met," she told reporters several hours before the meeting.

I've updated it.

I don't care who's under indictment, you don't need a House, Senate or any other leadership post. It makes you fodder for the other party's hijinx.
Noone has proposed expelling him from the House, this is one committee post. This is not about race or anything else except that the leadership needs to be like Caesar's wife.

Dems vote to strip Rep. Jefferson of his committee seat
Black Caucus members claim the Louisiana official is unfairly treated


By JANET HOOK
Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON - In a clash highlighting tensions between Democratic leaders and one of their party's pivotal constituencies, House Democrats on Thursday backed a move to oust scandal-scarred Rep. William J. Jefferson, D-La., from a powerful committee post, despite opposition from the Congressional Black Caucus.

On a 99-58 vote, the House Democratic Caucus endorsed a proposal by their leader, Nancy Pelosi of California, that would remove Jefferson temporarily from the Ways and Means Committee because of an FBI investigation of bribery allegations against him.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/3974417.html

House Democrats, determined to make an election-year point about ethics, voted to strip Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record) of his committee assignment Thursday night while a federal bribery investigation runs its course.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060616/ap_on_go_co/democrats_jefferson_4

on Tom Delay.

with delay?

like Tenet.

he obviously needs the money.

:crazy:

Congresscritters stick together. You don't have to be corrupt... you just have to see yourself as part of a ruling class above the hoi polloi.

While I admit the evidence is damning and I personally think he is guilt, that is simply my opinion. I am not the law. He is currently innocent. The man is being sacrificed and so is his job and income.

This is no different than being given a leave from a job until a trial is over. Happens all the time. He'll have the chance to prove his innocence in court. I don't think he can, but he'll have the chance.

I'm breathlessly waiting to hear the logical explanation for the 90k in his freezer!

committee. He's not being kicked out of the House altogether.

person before their trial??? :sarcasm:

he still gets to be a Rep. he just lost his committee seat.

They should do this. It shows that they don't rally around him just because he is a Democrat and they also didn't completely change the rules for him, or anyone.

In a letter to Pelosi on Wednesday, Jefferson offered to give up his Ways and Means seat under two conditions: that the party apply the same standards to other members under investigation and that it name Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, to replace him because he too represents a district that has been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Pelosi rejected the offer, Roussell said.

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tpupdates/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_tpupdates/archives/2006_06_16.html#152094

Jefferson stripped of House assignment _ as House lawyers join his search protest

WASHINGTON -- The bribery investigation of Rep. William Jefferson cost him his seat on a prized congressional committee Friday, even as his House colleagues battled alongside him in court to set limits on FBI incursions on Capitol Hill.

While House members stripped Jefferson of his committee assignment, U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan noted the broad implications raised by the FBI's search of the lawmaker's office last month.

With lawmakers worried about re-election and prosecutors pursuing a corruption investigation linked to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Hogan wondered what would stop the FBI from "marching up there time and again" to search the offices of implicated lawmakers. <snip>

Both the search and the political punishment meted out in the House Friday appeared to be without precedent. <snip>

http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5041857