From an otherwise well-written article at Washington Monthly comes this astonishing information:
The crash of a corrupt lawmaker is one of the oldest stories in Washington. What distinguishes this tale from the spate of others in the last few years is not only his party affiliation (all the rest have been Republicans) but his motive. Tom DeLay was brought down by financial schemes aimed at heightening his and his party’s political power; Duke Cunningham by bribes to support his lavish and debauched personal lifestyle. By all accounts, Jefferson was driven by a different aim, one that lends to his saga an air of Faulknerian tragedy. For William Jefferson, it was all about his familyâ€â€promoting it, employing it, and enriching it. [emphasis mine]
Written well enough. But as is so often the case, it’s only truly Faulknerian in the depth of its tragedy because he was one of the good guys.
And yet Ronnie Earle is going to leave office without having taken him to trial, 3 years after the indictment and after revealing that he doesn’t have the evidence he told the grand jury that he did have. It wasn’t financial schemes, it was Ronnie Earle pulling the same sort of crap he pulled on Kay Bailey Hutchinson – Indict and then decline to prosecute. DeLay was “brought down” by a mendacious scumbag DA playing games with his office.
Pablo,
It’s not the evidence (or lack thereof), but the seriousness of the charge.
Once Ronnie Earl had secured Tom Delay’s resignation, his job was complete. I doubt very much he ever intended for his “case” to see the inside of a courtroom. It could have been very embarassing…
It’s less the seriousness of the charge, I would say, than the seriousness of the party affiliation.
A different aim? Taking bribes to make you and yours rich is the usual aim of bribery. Jefferson was a typical corrupt hack politician of a long-entrenched political machine. Old-time party bosses like W.M. Tweed and G.W. Plunkett would have recognized him in an instant.
Since when has it become a crime in this country to keep $90,000 in marked bills in your freezer? Why can’t they leave this brother alone?
While Re’Thuglicans engage in the crass, icky art of political corruption, Jefferson engages in the tragic, heartfelt family financial freedom corruption.
(?!)
Please tell me this guy didn’t paid for that corkscrew point of view!
Wow, that’s some quality nuance there. Can I get in on the family-enriching corruption too? Being as it’s noble and stuff.
“The soft racism of low expectations”…
Only if you are a Person of Color, Techie.
Duke Cunningham’s case struck me as somewhat more tragic. And Pablo already wrote about Tom DeLay. I used to live in Tom DeLay’s district. I didn’t altogether love the man, but it was sick what Earle did to him and us – disenfranchesing the overwhelming majority of voters in DeLay’s district.
I can’t believe this guy didn’t mention Democrat mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick.
Oh, OK…so it was for his family so he had some good intentions. Please. The corruption Jefferson is involved in dwarfs Duke Cuningham’s disgusting nonsense and his family partook in all this bribery. Hell, his brother Archie is an un-indicted coconspirator, his brother Moses is under indictment in his own bribery matter as well as Jefferson’s political allies in which Jefferson’s wife has been implicated and most certainly under investigation for her involvement. He’s sent all his kids to Harvard in order to set up all these phony shell companies for Dollar Bill.
Giving new meaning to all in the family.
I just don’t understand this kerfuffle.
I always keep $90,000 in my freezer for my family’s needs. And sometimes, in an emergency, I have to call the National Guard to get my hands on it.
BFD! What’s the problem here?
Cold, hard, cash, baby.
I hope that DeLay is considering filing charges of his own against Earle: say, lying to a grand jury, malicious prosecution, abuse of office. Plus, of course, civil lawsuits similar to what the Duke lacrosse players are going for.