I told you so… (SEE HERE)

“Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record), D-La., was indicted Monday on federal charges of racketeering, soliciting bribes and money-laundering in a long-running bribery investigation into business deals he tried to broker in Africa.

The indictment handed up in federal court in Alexandria., Va., Monday is 94 pages long and lists 16 alleged violations of federal law that could keep Jefferson in prison for up to 235 years, according to a Justice Department official who has seen the document.

Among the charges listed in the indictment, said the official, are racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money-laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case.

Jefferson is accused of soliciting bribes for himself and his family, and also for bribing a Nigerian official.

Almost two years ago, in August 2005, investigators raided Jefferson’s home in Louisiana and found $90,000 in cash stuffed into a box in his freezer.

Jefferson, 63, whose Louisiana district includes New Orleans, has said little about the case publicly but has maintained his innocence. He was re-elected last year despite the looming investigation.

Jefferson, in Louisiana on Monday, could not immediately be reached for comment.”

As I’ve been telling you readers “Patience”. Grand Juries of this magnitude take time to return findings. Remember that the Alexandria Va. GJ is still ongoing, looking into the SWIFT leak among others, to the media.

But for now lets refresh – if but a little – of our faith in the system.

By the way, this indictment is a whopper, larger in fact than that of Duke Cunningham. The interesting part is who else of Dollar Bill’s friends in congress may have been involved? It’s not a secret that there must be a reason he was treated with such “kid gloves” by some members of his party during the investigation. As Jefferson prepares for trial he will no doubt seek to “cooperate” with prosecutors and perhaps tell us who else profited from the deal.

Additionally, as Capt Ed. Notes, this presents a hugh problem for Madam of the House Pelosi:

“The indictment puts Nancy Pelosi in a tough spot. She removed Jefferson from the Ways and Means committee after the discovery of the freezer cash. The backlash from the Congressional Black Caucus forced her to give Jefferson a seat on the Homeland Security committee instead, giving critics of Pelosi’s supposed fight against the “culture of corruption” plenty of ammunition.”

Oh, you bet cha…