Dirty Politician: William Jefferson

Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)'s Washington office was raided last night, and the FBI has disclosed portions of recorded conversations last year between Jefferson and an informant. The informant had paid Jefferson $100,000 in $100 bills (caught on videotape by the FBI) to be delivered to an official in Nigeria. In a telephone conversation on August 1 which the FBI has partially disclosed, Jefferson and the informant spoke to each other in code about the bribe money, which was recovered from Jefferson's freezer during a police search on August 3. In that conversation, the informant asked about the status of "the package." Jefferson replied that "I gave him the African art that you gave me and he was very pleased."

Jefferson apparently had the objective of getting work in Africa for a communications company, and getting his children a cut of that deal.

Via Talking Points Memo.