Congressman William Jefferson Testifies in

 BriberyCase

Thursday, January 17, 2008

ALEXANDRIA, Va. —  A Louisiana congressman accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes has testified under oath for the first time in the case.

William Jefferson, a Democrat, is trying to suppress statements he made to investigators in August 2005 when the FBI took documents from his New Orleans home.

Jefferson testified Thursday in federal court that FBI agents were so hostile when they interviewed him that they watched him use the bathroom.

His version of the FBI’s questioning differed sharply from the agents’ testimony. Agents, for instance, say Jefferson slumped back and said “What a waste” when shown a videotape of him accepting a $100,000 cash bribe from an FBI informant. Jefferson says his actual statement was “What a waste of time.”

Jefferson acknowledged on cross examination that he knew then that he had $90,000 in the freezer of his Washington home. He said he had an explanation for it, but declined to elaborate.

Lee Adds: He wants to supress anything that shows TRUTH! After all just look at his political leanings!