Well, what else is he going to do. If William Jefferson had any honor, he would have never have engaged in these acts in the first place.

Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record) pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of soliciting more than $500,000 in bribes while using his office to broker business deals in Africa.

Jefferson, D-La., said he understood the charges during the federal court hearing. He was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.

"I am absolutely innocent of the charges that have been leveled against me," Jefferson said afterward. "I'm going to fight my heart out to clear my name."

And with all the folks around him who have already been convicted or entered guilty pleas, can you believe he is going to claim that he was somehow entrapped?

According to court records, FBI agents videotaped Jefferson picking up a $100,000 cash bribe in 2005 from an informant in a hotel parking garage. Two days later, FBI agents raided Jefferson's home in Washington and found $90,000 in cash stuffed in a box in his freezer.

Jefferson alluded to that money on Friday, but he declined to answer any questions.

"The $90,000 was the FBI's money," he said. "The FBI gave it to me as part of its plan — part of their plan — that I would give it to the Nigerian vice president, but I did not do that. When all the facts are understood, I trust that I will be vindicated."

According to court records, Jefferson told associates he needed cash to pay bribes to the country's vice president, Atiku Abubakar. Abubakar has denied the allegations.

He is caught, dead to rights. Too bad he is going to sting this thing along to delay justice as long as possible.

Posted by: Greg at 06:47 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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