Posted on 06/03/2006 9:28:00 AM PDT by Libloather
Judge: Unseal Jefferson raid paperwork
Saturday, June 03, 2006
From staff reports
A federal appeals court judge has ruled that The Times-Picayune should have access to legal paperwork that led to the Aug. 3 raid by federal authorities on the New Orleans home of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, along with his car and the office of his campaign treasurer, Jack Swetland.
The Justice Department has already released similar paperwork laying out its justification for the recent raid of Jefferson's congressional office as part of the same federal inquiry.
**SNIP**
A similar case is pending in a Maryland court regarding materials filed in support of a raid on the Nigerian vice president's house in Potomac. A federal judge has ruled that the materials should be unsealed, but the order was stayed to give Jefferson time to appeal.
Federal investigators have not opposed any of the requests to make the materials public. But Jefferson has objected in each case, saying that unsealing the materials would violate his privacy and deny him the right to a fair trial if he is indicted.
On Friday, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge W. Eugene Davis agreed with the newspaper's position in regard to the materials supporting the local raids, saying that the public's right to know details of the case outweighs Jefferson's interests.
Davis noted that a "substantially identical" affidavit had already been unsealed in Washington, and that details of the federal probe "have been widely reported in the press." In addition, he noted that Jefferson "is a public servant and his conduct in the performance of his official duties is a matter of great public interest."
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
NEW ORLEANS // Rep. William J. Jefferson was once famous in Louisiana circles as the sharecropper's son who made his way to Harvard, steered by parents who preached the value of education.
Today, Jefferson is known nationally as the Louisiana Democrat who stashed $90,000 of alleged bribe money in the kitchen freezer of his Washington home.
More -
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.jefferson03jun03,0,7719816.story?track=rss
Now, THAT'S FUNNY !
Didn't some Congressman actually try that once? Said he was actually trying to set up the guys trying to bribe him?
"Jeffie had caught the FBI red handed making payoffs with counterfeit money and needed to keep some as evidence."
You should be an attorney.
Thats good, real good!
That's gotta be it. :-)
At least one. ;-)
Can a Judge over rule the POTUS?????
Aw, jeez, don't go and get me siding with William Jefferson, DemocRAT of Louisiana. I wish the phrase was "the public's right to know at the appropriate time." The openness of our court system is important and the press has a crucial role to play in that regard. However, the presumption of innocence is one of the cornerstones of our Constitutional rights and just because a supposed majority of us want to be titillated with the details before the trial takes place, it doesn't mean that a judge can decide that our individual rights are less important than "collective" rights. See where I'm going with that? Does the phrase "we're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good" ring a bell? If it was the prosecution objecting I would be a lot more troubled with keeping it secret before the trial. Further, I'd hate for this act of media voyeurism result in William Jefferson, democRAT of Louisiana, getting any kind of break when another judge decides that his rights WERE violated.
So he stored the "evidence " in the freezer because he knew those SOB's would storm down the door and look everywhere to Steal" the evidence to protect themselves.
The sealing of the boxes is furthur "proof" that they don't want the evidence to see the light of day because they know it will incriminate the FBI, not WJ, who was going to disclose the evidence at the appropriate time anyway.
All valid points. I'd argue that in this case, an elected representative of the people should have LESS leeway and should have MORE scrutiny than a private individual.
We know the basics, and the man is innocent until proven guilty. Nevertheless, he swore an oath that we did not, he is charged with responsibilities of governance that we are not. The public has a right to know the allegations and evidence against him because in this case it is in the public interest.
Being cynical I tend to agree with the other poster that there is a political interest too - some people want this out and done away with quickly since elections are coming. They don't want a scandal running during the campaign.
The Nigerian VP has a HOME in DC area??? Why do you spose that is?
So I don't have to fly all the way to Nigeria to get the money he promised me in the email.
Here's one article:
Wednesday, September 14, 2005~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Katrina: Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson Used National Guard to Retrieve Belongings
By James Joyner
Rep. William Jefferson commandered a National Guard detachment on September 2, during the height of the Katrina rescue operations, to go check on his own home and retrieve his belongings. Ultimately, several soldiers, a helicopter, and at least two large trucks were involved in the operation. [SNIP]
At the time, I recall talk about him retrieving something (money?) from his freezer in NO. Does anyone have more on this episode?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1636250/posts
Does anyone have something on this from the Katrina rescue timeframe?
LOL Should'a known....should'a known.
Wait till Jefferson is committed to run then release it.
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