William Jefferson sentenced to 13 years in prison

[funkybutt]

Source: Times Picayune, New Orleans

Former Rep. William Jefferson was sentenced today to 13 years in prison for his conviction on 11 counts of public corruption in a case in which he famously hid $90,000 in his freezer.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III delivered the sentence at a packed courtroom in the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va. Prosecutors had asked for 27 to 33 years in prison, while Jefferson's lawyers said the prison term should be less than 10 years.

-snip-

Ellis said he found Jefferson's conduct "a cancer on the body politic."

Read more: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/11/william_jefferson_sentenced_ye.html

[truthisfreedom]

1. Wow, that's a hell of a stretch. What a fuckwad.

I'm glad he got caught. We don't need corrupt politicians in our party.

[alp227]

21. Also did you know...?

All five representatives expelled from the House were...DEMOCRATS! (3 for "disloyalty to the Union" during the Civil War era, Michael J. "Ozzie" Myers in 1980 for bribery, and James Traficant in 2002 for corruption). Whichever Republicans who got convicted at least resigned or were voted out of office...democratically succeeded by Democrats.

But how many more corrupt Republicans who did the Nixon way of avoiding impeachment/expulsion are there than Democratic representatives who actually got expelled?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives#Terms
http://www.rules.house.gov/Archives/rl31382.pdf page CRS-5

[jaysunb]

2. Seems a bit harsh to me

:shrug:

[funkybutt]

Prosecutors had asked for 27 to 33 years

[jaysunb]

11. Still...

there have been several more egregious cases here lately that got the pol 5-7 years. This seems to be a bit over the top and feels like publicity driven justice. :shrug:

see post #10. I didn't want to go there but.....

[marshall]

14. He should have plead guilty--he would have gotten MUCH less

But with time off for good behavior he could whittle it down to around ten years.

[funkybutt]

26. Exactly!

I think a plea deal would have been 3 years or so. The case was not super strong so I can understand the decision to fight it but it was also pretty arrogant. The defense strategy was pretty weak too.

[sunnybrook]

12. people get less than that for murder

our criminal justice system is so random

[shadowknows69]

16. Considering the war criminals are still roaming free indeed.

[slackmaster]

27. For a member of Congress who took bribes?

I don't think it's too harsh at all. He violated a sacred public trust.

[JonQ]

29. It's not the first time he's done something ethically sketchy

during katrina he used national guard resources to go retrieve documents from his home in the middle of an investigation: http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1123495&page=1

This guy is a scum bag that needs to disappear for a long time.

[timeforpeace]

3. Obama will probably issue him a pardon.

[Nostradammit]

5. Why is that comment necessary?

Upon what do you base that?

[xultar]

7. It appears to be based on bullshit from where I sit.

[HughMoran]

18. That's "one line"

They never post anything more than one line agitating posts - it's annoying.

[tabasco]

35. One of the astroturfers flying under the radar.

The house cleaning needs to continue.

[humbled_opinion]

9. LOL...

You forgot the sarcasm tag....

[FarPoint]

23. I sure hope he does....

but it won't be for a long time.....

[chrisa]

33. Why do you hope he does?

He deserves to be in jail for what he did.

[ButterflyBlood]

30. Obama isn't a corrupt piece of human filth like Jefferson

So no, he won't.

[Jennicut]

32. Obama has been very stingy on pardons so far

"In two and a quarter centuries, only four presidents have proven slower than Obama in exercising their authority of executive clemency - granting either pardons or commutations of sentences to the convicted -- with thousands of applications pending at the Justice Department."
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/11/obama_pardoncautious_among_slo.html
He is very cautious to give any right now.

[WriteDown]

4. So does that mean that he's not running in the next election?

:shrug:

[alp227]

20. He could, but it'd be dumb to do so

Let Joseph Cao, who did vote for the health care bill, run and win again in 2010. I don't think Jefferson is silly enough to pull a James Traficant...Traficant was expelled from the House in 2002 but was on the ballot behind bars as an independent. Traficant got only 15% of the vote, but his aide Tim Ryan won. Thanks to Ryan, a Democrat still keeps that district seat.

[tularetom]

6. I forget - what did Duke Cunningham get?

Jefferson's crimes are pretty bad and he deserved what he got, but I don't think he's in the same league of congressional crook as the dukester.

[jemsan]

8. Duke got 8 years because he's old and in ill health

[pitohui]

10. is duke perchance a white man? (jefferson is also old, ya know)

let's be real, what jefferson did in no way merits a sentence YEARS longer than the worst of the worst and the most corrupt politicians in congress IN ALL OF RECORDED HISTORY

it would be nice if there was at least a pretense that it was about justice but when a man is treated so much differently from all other men, forever, in this position, well what am taking away from this?

jefferson wasn't a hero but too much of this sentence is about race and about showboating

david duke -- yes i realize a different duke from the one you're discussing but this one i saw with my own fucking EYES what he got away with -- david duke didn't pay federal tax for 20 years, stole millions of dollars collected at his rallies that he gambled openly in public casinos where we all saw it, and HE LITERALLY FLED TO RUSSIA and he got abt a year in a minimum facility

it's america, it's still all abt color, even when the majority of americans don't believe the racist crap any more, the voters and the people are ready to see beyond this (or we wouldn't have a black president) but the racist element is alive and well and there is not even a pretense of equality when it comes to sentencing

but too many in positions of power, like this judge and these prosecutors are just fucking crazy

why are some treated differently from others? is my question

if jefferson had been a republican he'd get probation for this offense and we all know it -- after all he didn't fucking try to flee to russia!!!

[jaysunb]

13. Bingo !

:thumbsup:

[Rage for Order]

15. Which is it then, race or political party?

You spent nearly all of your post arguing that Jefferson received a harsher punishment than was warranted because he is black. Then, in your last sentence, you state "if jefferson had been a republican he'd get probation for this offense and we all know it". So which is it, race or party?

By the way, what happened to Edwin Edwards, and what color was he?

[pleah]

22. Exactly! n/t

[niyad]

38. let's see-- duke cunningham, old, white republican, sentenced by old white republican

Senate Confirms Larry A. Burns for Judgeship
in Southern District of California

SAN FRANCISCO – The United States Senate has confirmed President Bush’s nomination of U.S. Magistrate Judge Larry A. Burns of San Diego to serve as district judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Judge Burns, 49, was confirmed by the Senate Wednesday (Sept. 24) by a 91-0 vote (nine Senators not voting). He was nominated on May 1 and appeared July 30 before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington D.C. His nomination was favorably reported out of committee on Sept. 4.

Judge Burns will fill a new judgeship authorized by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act. Signed into law by President Bush in November 2002, the act created five new judgeships for the San Diego-based Southern District of California, effective July 15, 2003. Judge Burns is the first of the new judges to be seated. Nominees for the other four judgeships are in the confirmation process.

http://207.41.19.15/Web/OCELibra.nsf/504ca249c786e20f85256284006da7ab/c0aa6521718d95d588256dac0070dc54?OpenDocument


william jefferson, old, black, democrat, sentenced by old, white republican:

Ellis, Thomas Selby III
Born 1940 in Bogota, Columbia

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U. S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
Nominated by Ronald Reagan on July 1, 1987, to a seat vacated by Robert R. Merhige; Confirmed by the Senate on August 5, 1987, and received commission on August 6, 1987. Assumed senior status on April 1, 2007.



http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=703

[No Elephants]

28. Cunningham copped a plea and got 100 months. He took a lot more than Jefferson, too.

[ButterflyBlood]

31. and because he took a plea bargain

Jefferson would've probably got less time than Duke if he had pled guilty.

[niyad]

39. and, conveniently, his judge was a bush appointee

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. Hooray.

kicking for others to see.
What, only 5 recs...we have been waiting for years for this to be announced.

[TexasObserver]

19. Scooter Libby, George W. Bush, Karl Rove, and Dick Cheney remain at large.

[goclark]

24. Now when will GW and the Bush Mafia do some time?

[rayofreason]

25. Does he get a freezer in his cell? n/t

[mstinamotorcity]

34. He just happened to

get caught. There are some in the political world who have yet to see a day in jail. And if you asked me I think just about every member of congress and the senate are guilty of accepting some form of payment for a favor. I mean are we not in a fight over healthcare because of corporate dollars. And God forbid,if there is anything that ordinary people want from our Government.But if you do the crime you do the time. Dubya,Shooter! Theres a nice uncomfortable cell waiting for you.:-) :-) :-)

[niyad]

36. and how many years did randy cunningham get for his millions in bribery, corruption, etc?

oh wait, but he's a repuke.

[niyad]

37. let's see--he gets 13 years for 90k in his fridge. cunningham gets 8 years for over 2 milliion in

bribes, corruption etc., in addition to being a hypcritical scumbag:

Duke Cunningham






Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 44th, 51st and 50th district
In office
January 3, 1991 – December 6, 2005



Cunningham resigned from the House on November 28, 2005, after pleading guilty to accepting at least $2.4 million in bribes and underreporting his income for 2004. He pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion. On March 3, 2006, he received a sentence of eight years and four months in prison and an order to pay $1.8 million in restitution.<1> Prior to his political career, he was an officer in the United States Navy for 20 years during which time he became a flying ace for actions during the Vietnam War.

.....


Sentencing
On March 3, 2006, U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns sentenced Cunningham to 100 months (eight years and four months) in prison.<1> Federal prosecutors had pushed for the maximum sentence of ten years, but Cunningham's defense lawyers said that at 64 years old and with prostate cancer, Cunningham would likely die in prison if he received the full sentence.<52><53> Judge Burns cited his military service in Vietnam, age, and health as the reason the full ten years was not imposed. Prosecutors announced that they were satisfied with the sentence, which is the longest jail term ever given to a former Congressman.<54>


.......

In September 1996 Cunningham criticized President Clinton for appointing judges who were "soft on crime". "We must get tough on drug dealers," he said, adding that "those who peddle destruction on our children must pay dearly."<21> He favored stiff drug penalties<22> and voted for the death penalty for major drug dealers.<23>

Four months later, his son Todd was arrested for helping to transport 400 pounds (181 kg) of marijuana from Massachusetts to California. Todd Cunningham pleaded guilty to possession and conspiracy to sell marijuana.<24> At his son's sentencing hearing, Cunningham fought back tears as he begged the judge for leniency (Todd was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, in part because he tested positive for cocaine three times while on bail).<23> Cunningham's press secretary responded to accusations of double standards with: "The sentence Todd got had nothing to do with who Duke is. Duke has always been tough on drugs and remains tough on drugs."<22>
.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Cunningham