Group Files Ethics Complaint Against Jefferson

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Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington — ah, the Quixotes among us — are tilting at the House Ethics Committee again.

This time it’s to goad the panel into investigating Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA), who appears to have engaged in legal and ethical violations large and small.

For starters, a former aide says Jefferson pushed a Nigerian telecommunications deal in exchange for gifts to his family members, CREW says. He did the same thing for a Ghanaian deal, receiving company stock in exchange, according to the group.

If that’s not bad enough, CREW’s asking for Congressional action against Jefferson because during Hurricane Katrina he used National Guard troops to check on his Louisiana home and retrieve some belongings.

Will their efforts pay off? The ethics committee hasn’t lifted a finger since Sancho Panza rode the Spanish plains. But it never hurts to try.

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