CREW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MELANIE SLOAN’S STATEMENT ON REP. JEFFERSON'S RE-ELECTION

10 Dec 2006 // Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and a former federal prosecutor, said today:

Sadly, the voters of Louisiana's 2nd congressional district have re-elected Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) to another term in the House despite overwhelming evidence that Rep. Jefferson is corrupt. Given that two people have already pleaded guilty in connection with the Jefferson investigation, it is only a matter of months before Rep. Jefferson himself will be indicted for bribery. Rep. Jefferson is likely to spend much more of the coming term worrying about his own legal problems rather than the serious issues facing the people of Louisiana.

So far, the House ethics committee has failed to take any action against Rep. Jefferson despite the fact that he has been caught on videotape soliciting a bribe and was found with $90,000 in his home freezer.

This is further proof that the new Congress needs to make ethics reform, including the creation of an independent Office of Public Integrity, its first priority.

***

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions.

For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Naomi Seligman Steiner at 202.408.5565/press@citizensforethics.org.