I first noticed this bit of information back in May, but didn't have much time to pursue it during the hub-bub over the search of William Jefferson's Capitol Hill office. It is nice to see the matter looked at a bit more closely by the Washington Post.

The corruption investigation of Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) has taken many strange twists: an FBI sting that caught the lawmaker on videotape accepting a large payoff; a subsequent raid that turned up $90,000 of that cash in his apartment freezer; and a weekend FBI search of his congressional office that triggered a constitutional uproar.

But one of the most puzzling and intriguing facets of the case is Jefferson's ties to Atiku Abubakar, the vice president of Nigeria. Abubakar, a wealthy businessman and one of the leading candidates in next year's race for president of Nigeria, divides his time between his homeland and Potomac, Md., where he and one of his four wives maintain a $2.2 million mansion.

Jefferson, who was a member of a House Ways and Means trade subcommittee, got to know Abubakar after the Nigerian was elected vice president in 1999. Later, Jefferson turned to Abubakar for help in winning a lucrative Nigerian telecommunications contract for a high-tech firm in Kentucky that was paying Jefferson bribes, according to an FBI affidavit. Jefferson told a business associate in a secretly taped conversation that Abubakar was "corrupt" and needed a hefty bribe and a cut of the profits in return for his help -- allegations Abubakar has strongly denied.

Abubakar's involvement in the case has created a buzz in Washington's diplomatic circles and generated intense political controversy and media attention in Nigeria -- a country that is trying to shed its long-standing reputation for corrupt government.

"I don't think it will be simply excused or trivialized," said J. Stephen Morrison, director of the Africa program for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "I think his opponents will use it, certainly. Nigerian politics is hardball."

Nearly a year ago, the home in Potomac was searched by the FBI, which has indicated that Jefferson may have brived a foreign official.

For his part, Abubakar denies any involvement in Jefferson's corruption, claiming that Jefferson just used his name to further his own illegal schemes. Still, Abubakar rose from modest beginnings in a civil service known for its corruption -- and today is a multi-millionaire whose wealth came from sources which are difficult to determine. When one considers tht teh pair met shortly before the discovery of $90,000 in Jefferson's freezer, it is not unreasonable to connect the dots.

Intrestingly enough, though, it may be that $90,000 that clears the Nigerian Vice President.

Following the meeting (with Abubakar) on Sorrel Avenue, Jefferson told Mody that the vice president had demanded a cut of the profits (from Mody's iGate scheme). He said they also needed to give him a $500,000 payment "as a motivating factor," the affidavit said.

On July 30, Mody gave Jefferson a $100,000 bribe to pass on to Abubakar, and shortly after, Jefferson assured her that it had been delivered.

On Aug. 3, FBI agents found $90,000 of the marked FBI bills in Jefferson's freezer at his Capitol Hill apartment. None of cash had gone to Abubakar, according to the FBI affidavit.

Edward Weidenfeld, the vice president's Washington lawyer, called Jefferson's comments implicating Abubakar "false, self-serving statements."

Judy Smith, a Jefferson spokeswoman, said: "It should be clear from the statement by the vice president's counsel that the vice president never accepted or agreed to accept any money from the congressman. The congressman . . . maintains that he is innocent of any wrongdoing."

It will be interesting to see where further investigation leads.

Posted by: Greg at 06:47 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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