Looks like we will get another load of information about the offenses of William Jefferson (D-$90K Next To The Lime Sherbet).

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.

Jefferson has not been charged in the case and has denied wrongdoing. Two of his associates have already pleaded guilty to federal charges, acknowledging they were involved in a scheme in which Jefferson sought bribes in exchange for helping an American telecommunications firm do business in Africa.

The Times-Picayune sued last month to make public the materials related to the New Orleans raids -- including the search warrants as well as the affidavits, applications, returns and inventories filed in connection with the warrants -- which had been sealed by court order.

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."

No doubt we will hear more ranting about the unfairness of subjecting Jefferson to the same laws and procedures as ordinary citizens.

Posted by: Greg at 08:46 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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