May 26, 2006 | When FBI agents reach into a congressman's home freezer and pull out $90,000 in foil-wrapped bills, it is time for him to resign. When the Justice Department announces that the same congressman is on videotape taking a $100,000 bribe in a Virginia hotel garage, his resignation is overdue.
The case of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., is that simple. In a matter of public integrity, his party affiliation doesn't matter, and neither does his race, color, creed, Harvard law degree or the sad fact that his constituents happen to live in ruined New Orleans. If he somehow doesn't understand his position, then his political friends -- and above all his colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus -- should be firmly explaining those realities to him.
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Yet when Pelosi finally asked him to step down from Ways and Means, he rejected her mild request. He released a bizarre letter claiming that his beleaguered constituents in New Orleans cannot afford to be deprived of him. Evidently he believes that he can continue in office, come what may. Sustaining him in this destructive delusion, unfortunately, is the Congressional Black Caucus -- whose dean, Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., sits with him on Ways and Means and counts him as a close friend.
The Hill, a weekly newspaper that covers Congress, reports that "furious" caucus members came close to publicly scolding Pelosi after she asked Jefferson to quit his committee post. Only an "emergency meeting" with the minority leader averted an embarrassing incident. According to the Hill, the dispute over Jefferson "has brought into glaring public light long-standing resentments felt by black lawmakers toward the Democratic leadership in the House."
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http://salon.com/opinion/conason/2006/05/26/jefferson/