June 5, 2006 – Rep. William Jefferson's allegedly illegal money-making scheme, which sparked an all-out war between the White House and Congress, was mostly about his children, The Washington Post reported Monday.

When an FBI informant sat down with the eight-term Louisiana Democratic congressman a year ago to offer the lawmaker a bribe, the Post reported, Jefferson wrote the letter "c" on a piece of paper, which stood for "children."

"I make a deal for my children. It wouldn't be for me," Jefferson allegedly told the informant.

The illegal kick-back schemes, allegedly amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars diverted to Jefferson, were also designed to benefit his wife, two brothers, five daughters and two sons-in-law, according to the Post.

Jefferson has adamantly denied any wrongdoing

He says that the FBI's search of his D.C. congressional offices was an “outrageous intrusion."

In a move that surprised many political observers, even Republican members of Congress joined Jefferson in criticizing the search, arguing that the Bush administration had trod over the longstanding principle of separation of powers by storming the lawmaker's domain.

Others, however, have said that the outcry from Capitol Hill is unjustified, given that the search came only after Jefferson refused to comply with a federal warrant to hand over documents. Moreover, they contend, it makes Jefferson's defenders in Congress look as though they also have something to hide.

Speaking at a recent news conference, Jefferson said. “…There are two sides to every story. There are certainly two sides to this story. There will be an appropriate time and forum when that can be explained and explicated. But this is not the time, this is not the forum,”

FBI agents, acting under the direction of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, refused to permit the general counsel of the House of Representatives or Congressman Jefferson's private counsel to enter the premises to observe the execution of the warrant, according to Jefferson’s attorney, Robert Trout.

"The government's actions in obtaining a search warrant to search the offices of a United States Congressman were outrageous,” Trout said in a statement Saturday. “… [T]he government knew that the documents were being appropriately preserved while proper procedures were being followed.”

Jefferson has not been charged.

But the government, in a nearly 100-page affidavit, said the Congressional Black Caucus member betrayed the public’s trust.

The FBI obtained the search warrant for Jefferson’s Congressional offices after filing an affidavit that included video and radio tapes that they say show Jefferson accepting a $100,000 bribe from an informant. As BET.com reported earlier, the government allegedly retrieved $90,000 from a freezer in Jefferson’s Washington, D.C., residence last August.

The document also allegedly includes excerpts of conversations between Jefferson and an unidentified business executive from northern Virginia who had agreed to wear a wire.

In the video released as part of the affidavit, Jefferson was allegedly seen accepting $100,000 from an FBI informant in a deal to use the cash to bribe a high-ranking Nigerian official to ensure the success of a business deal in that country.

The government says Jefferson got the money in a leather briefcase last July 30 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Arlington. The $100 bills in the suitcase had the same serial numbers as those found in Jefferson’s freezer, according to the affidavit.

At one of the audio-taped meetings, according to The Associated Press, Rep. Jefferson chuckled about writing in code to keep secret what the government contends was his corrupt role in getting his children a cut of a communications company deal in Africa.

As Jefferson and the informant passed notes about what percentage the lawmaker’s family might receive, the congressman “began laughing and said, ‘All these damn notes we’re writing to each other as if we’re talking, as if the FBI is watching,”’ the affidavit says.

Trout, Jefferson’s lawyer, accused the prosecution of using the affidavit as part of a publicity stunt to embarrass his client.

“This disclosure by the prosecutors is part of a public relations agenda and an obvious attempt to embarrass Congressman Jefferson,” Trout said in a statement. “The affidavit itself is just one side of the story, which has not been tested in court.”
Two of Jefferson’s associates have pleaded guilty to bribery-related charges in federal court.

BET.com reported last week that businessman Vernon Jackson of Louisville, Ky., admitted paying more than $400,000 in bribes to the lawmaker in exchange for his help securing business deals for Jackson’s telecommunications company in Nigeria.

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