MARYLAND MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY TO ACT AS AN IRAQI AGENT

Courtesy of the FBI

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

http://www.usdoj.gov   

Defendant Shredded Documents and Lied to FBI Agents

WASHINGTON—Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy, age 67, an Iraqi national living in Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, specifically, as an agent of Iraq, announced Patrick Rowan, Assistant Attorney General for National Security and U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

“Since coalition forces invaded Iraq in 2003, the Justice Department has charged at least a dozen people who served in the United States as illegal agents for the former Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein or its feared intelligence service, the Mukhabbarat. The number of these cases underscores the reach of Saddam’s intelligence service in America and the extent to which the former Iraqi regime was concerned with defectors and expatriate groups here,” said Patrick Rowan, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

“Documents recovered in Iraq by the United States Military led to Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy’s confession that he secretly worked as an agent of the Iraqi Intelligence Service under Saddam Hussein, using his restaurant as a meeting place and passing information to Iraqi agents,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Mr. Al-Dellemy lied about his work for Saddam Hussein regime when he was questioned by FBI agents in 2008, long after he became a lawful permanent resident of the United States.”

“The FBI is committed to rooting out and prosecuting those individuals who enjoy the benefits of residing in this country but who are acting on behalf of hostile foreign Intelligence services,” said Amy Jo Lyons, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office.

According to the plea agreement, under the regime of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) routinely recruited individuals, either currently in the United States or to be placed into the United States, to support the IIS and the Government of Iraq. Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy, who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2000, was one of these individuals. He was born in Iraq and was a member of the Ba’ath Party. He came to the United States as a student in the 1980s. His education in the United States was paid for by the Ba’ath Party. In exchange, Al-Dellemy was expected to provide information to the Government of Iraq on matters of interest to the government and the IIS.

Following the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces in March 2003, the U.S. military obtained confidential IIS documents establishing that beginning in 1989, and continuing through the Saddam Hussein regime, Al-Dellemy, referred to in many instances by the code name “Adam,” had been providing information to officials of the Government of Iraq and intelligence officers with the IIS. This information included reporting on the identities and activities of individuals and organizations in the United States that were opposed to Saddam Hussein and his regime, and specifics regarding U.S. policy and actions towards the Iraqi government. The seized documents also established that Al-Dellemy periodically received payments from the IIS and the Iraqi government as compensation for his assistance and information.

Specifically, according the plea agreement, throughout the conspiracy Al-Dellemy performed tasks at the Iraqi Embassy and at the Iraqi Interests Section (ISEC), formed in 1991 within the Algerian Embassy in Washington, D.C., after the U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Iraq for invading Kuwait. For example, in 1990, around the time of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Al-Dellemy assisted in the shredding of Ba’ath Party and other diplomatic documents maintained at the Iraqi Embassy that could compromise the Saddam Hussein regime and identify those individuals in the United States who had been acting as agents of the IIS. Al-Dellemy also attended and organized social gatherings at the Iraqi Embassy and the ISEC, which were used to recruit individuals to work for the IIS; to interact with individuals who were already working with the IIS and Saddam Hussein’s regime; and to maintain the loyalties of the participants to the Ba’ath Party and Saddam Hussein’s regime. Throughout the conspiracy Al-Dellemy made a restaurant he operated in Maryland available as a meeting place for IIS officers and Iraqi government officials, and utilized his restaurant as a means to gather information pertaining to U.S. government agencies near the restaurant, such as the National Security Agency and Fort George G. Meade.

Throughout the conspiracy, Al-Dellemy relied on fellow Ba’ath Party members and/or sympathizers to provide him with information about the Iraqi opposition in the United States, including members of the Iraqi community in Detroit, Michigan. Al-Dellemy also gathered information in Maryland regarding U.S. military training and travel concerning U.S. actions in Iraq.

Al-Dellemy, at the request of Iraqi government officials, sought out individuals for employment at the ISEC and in 2000, arranged for a coconspirator to be employed full-time at the ISEC as an accountant and a driver. This coconspirator continued his employment at the ISEC through March 2003, then resumed his employment at the Iraqi Embassy when it reopened in Washington, D.C., in December 2003. The coconspirator continued to work at the Iraqi embassy until March or April 2004. The coconspirator acted as a conduit between Al-Dellemy, Ba’ath Party members and loyalists in Detroit, and IIS and ISEC officials to transmit information of interest to the IIS, the Saddam Hussein regime, and the Ba’ath Party. Al-Dellemy was never recognized by the Department of State or the Attorney General of the United States as a diplomatic or consular officer of the Government of Iraq, or officially or publicly acknowledged and sponsored as an official, representative, or employee of Iraq.

According to the plea, Al-Dellemy never revealed his affiliation with the Ba’ath Party in applications to the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (now U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) for residency status in the United States, in an effort to conceal his activities as an agent for the Iraqi government. In addition, at the end of March 2003, Al-Dellemy and others destroyed numerous Ba’ath Party documents and related literature in his possession that would have compromised the activities of Al-Dellemy and his coconspirators as agents of the Iraqi government in the United States. On Oct. 13, 2008, during an interview with FBI agents, Al-Dellemy falsely denied passing information to the IIS and the Iraqi government, denied receiving payment from the IIS, and denied collecting information on the Iraqi opposition movement and reporting that information to the IIS.

Al-Dellemy faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy to act as an agent for a foreign government. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for March 5, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.

Patrick Rowan, Assistant Attorney General for National Security and U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Manuelian, who is prosecuting the case, as well as Senior Trial Attorneys Robert E. Wallace and Clifford I. Rones, from the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, who provided assistance in the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Harvey E. Eisenberg, Chief of National Security, who supervised this case.

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Technorati tags: al dellemy, baath party, ins, saddam hussein, Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy, foreign agents, iraq, conconspirator, Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS), Mukhabbarat

Ramos and Compean update; Ex-Border Patrol Agents file appeal

Courtesy of the Washington Times

Ex-border agents appeal convictions
September 24, 2007

     Two former U.S. Border Patrol agents sentenced to lengthy prison terms for shooting a drug-smuggling suspect have asked a federal appeals court to overturn their convictions, saying they were charged with a nonexistent crime and convicted after the jury was given improper instructions by the trial judge.

     Houston defense lawyer J. Mark Brewer said two counts of a grand jury indictment against former agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean charged them under a federal statute with the discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, but the statute does not define a crime and contains only a sentencing factor to be addressed after conviction.

     Mr. Brewer said in a 20-page motion that the “improperly-crafted indictment” misfocused the agents, counsel and jury on a nonexistent crime of unlawful discharge of a firearm, because the agents were authorized to possess, carry and use a firearm in the normal course of their job.

      He said that in order to charge a crime under the government’s 10-year mandatory sentence statute, an indictment “must allege that a defendant either has used or carried a firearm … during and in relation to any crime of violence or has possessed a firearm in furtherance of such a crime.” He said the prosecution “misstated” the crime defined by federal statute.

      Mr. Brewer said the district court “erroneously told the jury the federal statute made it a crime for anyone to discharge a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.”

     A ruling in the case is expected next month.

     “This is an outrageous case of prosecutorial abuse,” said Paul Kamenar, senior executive counsel for the Washington Legal Foundation, a watchdog group among eight organizations and persons who have filed briefs in support of the agents. “Instead of prosecuting the drug smuggler, the Justice Department filed a dozen felony charges against two agents trying to do their job.”

      The pending appeal is being heard by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans and seeks to overturn 11- and 12-year prison terms Ramos and Compean received, respectively…… For the rest of the story: Appeal

Technorati tags: ramos, compean & Ramos, compean, immigration, border patrol, Ignacio Ramos, Jose Alonso Compean, Washington Legal Foundation

I Want My Country Back

 

“I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK!”- By Rick Roberts 
By Rick Roberts, KFMB San Diego

Here is Rick Robert’s “I want my country back” rant. Rick has given exclusive permission to to post it on every blog you read, and e-mail it to every friend you have. If you would like to listen to it, CLICK HERE. _________________________

“I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK!”

I don’t mean to go off on a rant here, but here’s the bottom line, I want my country back.

I want my kids to be able to walk to the store or walk to school without being abducted by some 3-time convicted child molester. And the politically correct powers that be in this country just can’t seem to get over themselves with “CAN’T WE JUST HELP THIS PERSON!” No! You can’t. But they’re let loose to prey on more children.

I want my kids back. I want my country back.

I don’t agree with everything this President does. I’ve never agreed with anything 100% that any President has done or said.

You know, I was very young during the Vietnam War. So I probably missed that thing by a hair. I don’t know whether I would have agreed with that or not at the time. I was too stupid to have an opinion at that point and time even though I thought I did.

I want my country back.

I want some semblance of respect for authority, whether I agree with it all or not.

I want the Boy Scouts to be “boy” scouts, not boy and “we think she’s a girl” scouts. I want Girl Scouts to be “girl” scouts not Girl Scouts and “Bruce.”

I want my country back.

I want to be able to wake up in the morning knowing that I can walk outside without some gang-banger on parole taking my life.

Or being able to go down and purchase a car without having to worry about you know 90% of the parts being made overseas in some sweatshop.

I want my politicians, when they finally do get my vote, to do what the hell they said they were going to do in the first place.

I want the Abramoff’s of the world to be labeled what they…nothing more than organized crime in a better suit.

I want the Hollywood elite to make movies to entertain me. Not use their celebrity to sway me politically one way or the other.

Quite honestly, if you’re a has-been-pseudo-celebrity I want you to go away quietly, so that I can remember you fondly through your “artiste work” that’s left in the archives.

I want people to say something and when they say something look at me in the eye. And mean what they say. Not say what they think I want to hear. And then do what they want to later politically or any other way.

I want to be able to go out and work and make a decent wage and buy a home. Half the people that are listening to me right now can’t even afford to buy a house unless they’re working three jobs.

And I want America to be America. All of those opportunities, all of those things that made her great, I want those returned to the forefront. If you want to come to this country we welcome you with open arms. We simply ask that you abide by our laws. I don’t want you to snub your nose at our laws, then take advantage of our opportunities, and then cling to the constitution most of which you can’t even read because you don’t speak the language.

I want us to secure our borders because the country is worth securing. The people that live here are worth protecting.

I want my country back. I want my children back.

I want some semblance of what this country used to be.

It’s worth protecting. It’s worth defending.

I don’t recognize this country anymore.

Not politically, not philosophically, not spiritually.

Whether you like it or whether you don’t God was a part of building this great nation. To remove him is to take away the very foundation of what this country was all about.

I don’t care about your political correctness!

I don’t want to know your sexual preference!

I could care less about all of that. Stop making it the headline of the day!

That’s not America.

I want my country back!

And the only way I’m ever going to be able to get this country back is if I reach out to the brothers and the sisters that all feel the same way and we say “Hell No! You can’t have our country.”

It’s not for sale! Take the price tag off this country!

Take the price tag off the heads of our children!

Stop it already!

The politically-correct-psychobabble-hug-a-tree-experts ; You are not qualified to release sex offenders back into our neighborhoods.

The southern border, more than any other border, needs to be secured tomorrow. For all those that wish to come to this country to take advantage of her opportunity, to live under a constitution a living document that breathes in and out just like you do, this country is not for sale.

I should know. I’m one of the owners. You can’t sell it without my permission.

I want my country back!

Ann Coulter: RENO 911

Ann Coulter: Dems want to relive their “glory years”

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Here we go again, folks. Ann Coulter calls the shots like she sees them. By far, I believe that ANN is the best political referee going.

In today’s column, Ann Coulter writes (that) the Dems’ desire for a return of the “glory years” with former Attorney General Janet Reno. “There is reason to believe Reno is precisely the sort of attorney general that Hillary would nominate, since Reno was widely assumed to be Hillary’s pick at the time,” she writes. “As ABC News’ Chris Bury reported the day Reno was confirmed: ‘The search for an attorney general exemplifies Hillary Clinton’s circle of influence and its clout. … The attorney general-designate, Janet Reno, came to the president’s attention through Hillary Clinton’s brother, Hugh Rodham.'”

Coulter offers a simple tabulation of the accomplishments of Reno and former Attorneys General Alberto Gonzeles and John Ashcroft.

• Civilians killed by Ashcroft: 0;
• Civilians killed by Gonzales: 0;
• Civilians killed by Reno: 80.

Read Ann Coulter’s latest column at World Net Daily: RENO 911

Elvira Arellano’s road trip ends in apprehension

Courtesy of Sonoran News, the Conservative Voice of Arizona

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Left: Elvira Arellano

Above: Michelle Dallacroce, founder of Mothers Against Illegal Aliens, has been on a quest to get Congress to stop ignoring the “under the jurisdiction” clause of 14th Amendment, citing it is absurd to grant citizenship to the children of foreign invaders.

PHOTO BY LINDA BENTLEY

‘… fix this broken law and uphold the principals of human dignity’

By Linda Bentley, Reporter, Sonoran News

    LOS ANGELES – After seeking sanctuary in the Aldalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago, where she has lived for the past year to avoid deportation, Elvira Arellano decided to hold a press conference last Thursday, announcing she would be going to Washington, D.C. on Sept. 12 to lobby Congress to reform our country’s immigration laws.

    After living in the United States illegally for a decade, Arellano still does not speak English and requires an interpreter. However, this time she read, with great difficulty, a speech prepared for her in English.

    Peppered with repeated references to her “American citizen son,” Arellano read, “If this government would separate me from my son, let them do it in front of the men and women who have the responsibility to fix this broken law and uphold the principles of human dignity.” According to the Merriam- Webster Dictionary, dignity is defined as “the quality or state of being worthy, honored, or esteemed.” Arellano, 32, is hardly the portrait of dignity.

    Shortly after entering the country illegally in 1997 using someone else’s identification, Arellano was deported.

    However, she returned almost immediately, working at various jobs in Washington State, later moving to Chicago, using the names Gloria Trevino and Donna Miranda-Baretto and a social security number issued in Wisconsin to Margaret Benez, born May 6, 1920 and who died Sept. 15, 1995.

    That was how Arellano was able to gain access to the secure area of O’Hare International Airport where she worked cleaning airplane cabins.

    That was also what got her arrested and deported after immigration agents did a sweep at O’Hare in 2001.

    In addition to entering the country illegally, engaging in identity fraud, Arellano gave birth to an illegitimate son, Saul, now eight, who would not be an American citizen, had Arellano not reentered the country illegally after being deported.

    With a glowing eight-page pre-sentencing report, stating deportation would be punishment enough, Arellano was charged with a single misdemeanor for fraudulently presenting a social security card that was not issued by the Social Security Administration and was sentenced to three years probation, which prohibited Arellano from remaining in or reentering the United States after being deported.

    Arellano lost the appeal of her deportation order, but instead of surrendering to be deported, Arellano decided to hole up in Rev. Walter “Slim” Coleman’s church.

    During Thursday’s press conference, Arellano, reading from her prepared statement, said, “Families should not be separated. I understand fear because I fear being torn from the arms of my son.” Arellano made the decision to become a fugitive.

    Apparently Arellano had other plans she did not announce during the press conference.

    After the press conference, Michelle Dallacroce, founder of Mothers Against Illegal Aliens, learned Arellano was headed to Los Angeles, accompanied by Coleman and others, where they were to join Coleman’s wife, Emma Lozano, an open borders activist for Latin American illegal aliens and one of Arellano’s closest friends.

    On Friday, Aug. 18, Dallacroce called the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Los Angeles and spoke to Agent Bison, advising him of Arellano’s status as a fugitive and that she was on her way to Los Angeles.

    While Arellano’s every move has been covered by the Chicago Tribune, including sending a reporter to Arellano’s home village of San Miguel Cunahuango, Michoacán, Mexico, earlier this year, Dallacroce said no one from the Chicago ICE office contacted ICE in Los Angeles to advise them of fugitive alien Arellano’s road trip.

    The Tribune’s Online edition released breaking news on Saturday announcing Arellano’s arrival at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Los Angeles and said she was expected to speak during an illegal alien rights march later that afternoon.

    Dallacroce provided Bison with all the details available at the time.

    On Sunday afternoon, immediately after Arellano and her entourage got into a van to leave Our Lady Queen of Angels Church to head north to San Jose, where Arellano had another speaking engagement scheduled, an unmarked vehicle pulled up to block them.

    As the driver, Roberto Lopez, looked out the window to see why they were being blocked, they were soon surrounded by several more unmarked vehicles.

    Agents got out and yelled for Arellano to get out of the van. Arellano asked to spend a moment with her son, and then surrendered without incident.

    As of Monday, no charges have been brought against Coleman, Lozano or Lopez for aiding, harboring or transporting a fugitive alien.

    Saul will remain in the United States with Lozano, which Arellano reportedly expressed was her wish if she was deported.

    Again, it is Arellano who made the decision to be separated from her son.

    Dallacroce said she planned to go to Washington, D.C. next month and make a citizens’ arrest had Arellano not been apprehended.

    Over the past two years, Dallacroce has been lobbying to get Congress to clarify the “under the jurisdiction” clause of the 14th Amendment, which she says is being purposely misinterpreted in order to grant citizenship to the children of lawbreaking foreign invaders.

    She believes these “jackpot” babies, raised by foreigners, speaking foreign languages, with no allegiance to this country, will eventually negate the votes of American children.

    Dallacroce says Arellano’s sense of entitlement, based solely upon having given birth to an illegitimate son, after committing identity fraud and reentering the country illegally after being deported, emphasizes just how preposterous it is to grant citizenship to the children of foreign criminals, as she implores Congress to clarify the misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment for the sake of her own and all American children.

    That’s the broken law Dallacroce says needs fixing.

Court Says: Illegals not necessarily a crime

Illegal Presence in US Not Necessarily A Crime, Court Says

(CNSNews.com) – If you can get past the border guards and into the United States, you’re no longer violating the law, according to a Kansas Court of Appeals decision.

A three-judge panel threw out an illegal immigrant’s jail sentence, based on an apparent contradiction in U.S. law: While it is illegal to enter the country without the proper documents and permissions, it is not necessarily illegal to be in the country…

Different Standards for Republicans

Courtesy of Big Dog’s Weblog

Scooter Libby was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail for his conviction of lying under oath, or perjury. The judge refused to weigh Libby’s career of public service and decided to jail him rather than give him probation and fined him a quarter million dollars. This is what happens when Republican is convicted of lying under oath. When a Democrat is guilty of that he keeps his job and makes millions of dollars a year on the speaking circuit while his wife serves as a Senator and runs for President. The article indicates that Libby was the highest ranking official convicted of a crime since Iran Contra. I guess Clinton being guilty of perjury (the same offense as Libby) does not count because the gutless bastards in the Senate did not have the courage to impeach him. I suppose those on the left who said that perjury was not an impeachable offense can shut up now since this jackass judge has decided it is worth 30 months in jail.

I am not convinced Libby lied and even if he did it is not worth 30 months in jail. This judge is trying to make a name for himself by being tough but if Libby’s lie was worth 30 months where was this jackass judge when Clinton was deliberately lying to cover up his behavior? I think Libby should have just killed Fitzgerald because then he would be on probation. DC never takes murder that seriously and Libby would be a free man and Fitzgerald would be with Satan where he belongs.

Libby does not have a report date and the judge has not decided whether he should remain free pending his appeal (but has indicated that he sees no reason for it). The President should wait to see if Libby will remain free until his appeal and if he must report to jail the President should immediately pardon him. I don’t really care if the left likes it and Fitzgerald can suck wind along with his butt buddy judge. President Bush should thumb his nose at them and pardon Libby so he can move on with his life. Clinton seems to be doing well after his episode of perjury and Libby deserves the same.

If Hillary Rodham makes any comments about the sentence people should remind her that her sex offender husband was guilty of the same and then someone should kick her between her legs and make her testicles land in her throat. If Bush pardons Libby and she has a word to say then they should kick her there again and remind her of Mark Rich and all the other people her husband sold his pardons to.

As for the Democrats in Congress, if any of them comment on the culture of corruption and Libby then they had better be prepared to see Jefferson end up in jail for a thousand years and not open their yaps. They should also be reminded that their last President should be in a cell next to Libby and that they all should be there as well.

I believe that Libby can win on appeal. Fitzgerald unduly influenced the jury by and he continued even after he had the leak. Had he stopped when his scope had been reached he would not have even spoken with Libby. Spilled milk I imagine, now George Bush needs to grow a pair and pardon the man instead of just feeling awful for him and his family.

Fitzgerald is worthless and someone should kick him between the legs. Of course, it won’t hurt him. you have to have something there to feel pain. But then the judge already knows that.

Source:
Breithbart

Congressman William Jefferson Indicted

CONGRESSMAN WILLIAM JEFFERSON INDICTED ON BRIBERY, etc

Disclaimer:  Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Courtesy of the FBI: Official Press Release

U.S. Department of Justice
Jeffrey A. Taylor
United States Attorney
for the District of Columbia
Judiciary Center
555 4th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Information, Contact Public Affairs
Channing Phillips (202) 514-6933
June 4, 2007

CONGRESSMAN WILLIAM JEFFERSON INDICTED ON BRIBERY, RACKETEERING, MONEY LAUNDERING, OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, AND RELATED CHARGES

WASHINGTON – United States Congressman William J. Jefferson was indicted today by a federal grand jury on charges including bribery and racketeering for allegedly using his office to corruptly solicit bribes and for paying bribes to a foreign official, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today.

The 16-count indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., charges Jefferson with solicitation of bribes, honest services wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, racketeering, and conspiracy. The indictment alleges that from in or about August 2000 through in or about August 2005, Jefferson, while serving as an elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives, used his position and his office to corruptly seek, solicit and direct that things of value be paid to Jefferson and his family members in exchange for his performance of official acts to advance the interests of people and businesses who offered him the bribes.

The things of value allegedly sought and/or received by Jefferson on behalf of his business interests and relatives included hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes in the form of payments from monthly fees or retainers, consulting fees, percentage shares of revenues and profits, flat fees for items sold, and stock ownership in the companies seeking his official assistance.

The official acts allegedly undertaken by Jefferson included leading official business delegations to Africa, corresponding with U.S. and foreign government officials, and utilizing congressional staff members to promote businesses and businesspersons. Business ventures that Congressman Jefferson sought to promote included: telecommunications deals in Nigeria, Ghana, and elsewhere; oil concessions in Equatorial Guinea; satellite transmission contracts in Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo; and development of different plants and facilities in Nigeria.

“The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing the public corruption laws designed to ensure the integrity of our government,” said Assistant Attorney General Fisher. “The Department will continue to hold public officials accountable for corrupt acts such as the bribery schemes outlined in today’s indictment.”
“The schemes charged are complex, but the essence of this case is simple: Mr. Jefferson corruptly traded on his good office, and on the Congress where he served as a Member of the United States House of Representatives, to enrich himself and his family through a pervasive pattern of fraud, bribery and corruption that spanned many years and two continents,” said U.S. Attorney Rosenberg.

“The FBI has made combating public corruption its top criminal investigative priority because American citizens deserve honest and ethical public officials representing their interest,” said Assistant Director Kenneth W. Kaiser, FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “As it is alleged, Congressman Jefferson violated the public’s trust and used his official position and office as a RICO enterprise to corruptly solicit bribes, to pay off a foreign official, and to illegally benefit from overseas business transactions during a five-year period. The FBI will continue to work with our local, state, federal and international partners to combat public corruption across all levels of government as no corrupt public servant is exempt from FBI scrutiny.”

The indictment alleges that Jefferson knowingly conspired with Vernon L. Jackson, a Louisville, Ky., businessman, and Brett M. Pfeffer, a former Jefferson congressional staff member, and others as part of the bribery and corruption scheme. Jefferson allegedly discussed and solicited bribes in return for being influenced in the performance of certain official acts, including receiving things of value from iGate, Jackson’s company. According to the indictment, Jefferson also corruptly sought bribes from an individual identified in the indictment as a Cooperating Witness (CW) to be paid to family members. The indictment alleges, for example, that Jefferson required 5 percent to 7 percent of the CW’s newly formed Nigerian company be given to members of Jefferson’s family in exchange for his assistance. Jefferson allegedly made the request of the CW in December 2004 during a meeting in a congressional dining room.

The indictment further alleges that Jefferson violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by allegedly offering, promising and making payments to a foreign official to advance the various business endeavors in which he and his family had financial interest. Jefferson was allegedly responsible for negotiating, offering and delivering payments of bribes to the official identified in the indictment as “Nigerian Official A.”
According to the indictment, on or about July 18, 2005, Jefferson met with Nigerian Official A at the official’s residence in Potomac, Md., and offered Official A a bribe to induce him to use his position to assist in obtaining commitments from NITEL, the government-controlled main telecommunications service provider in Nigeria. On or before Aug. 3, 2005, at his residence in Washington, D.C., Jefferson allegedly secreted in his freezer $90,000 of the $100,000 in cash provided by the CW as part of the front-end bribe payment to Nigerian Official A. The cash was separated into $10,000 increments, wrapped in aluminum foil, and concealed inside various frozen food containers.

Jefferson faces a maximum of 235 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Jackson was sentenced to 87 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and the payment of bribes to a public official. Pfeffer was sentenced to 96 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and aiding and abetting the solicitation of bribes by a member of Congress.
The case is being prosecuted by Mark D. Lytle and Rebeca H. Bellows, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Charles E. Duross of the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

 

Technorati tags: william jefferson, indictment, foreign corruption practices act, fincen, financial crimes enforcement network, congressman, democrats, political pundits, politics

North America Union

CARE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE NORTH AMERICAN UNION? 
By Rick Roberts,KFMB 760AM San Diego 
June 1st, 2007

We had Dr. Jerome Corsi of WorldNetDaily and StopSPP.com on our show this morning to discuss some VERY vital issues, including the NASCO super highway.

Here is what we discussed:

Southern border blurs for global trade

Superhighway a ‘crazy conspiracy theory’?

Bush’s detention facilities

Dr. Corsi touches on countless key issues that lamestream media journalists wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.

You can listen to Rick Roberts’ interview by clicking here.

Sadly, these issues are not conspiracy theories. They are what we face as a nation if we don’t fight.

Dr. Jerome Corsi received a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Political Science in 1972. He has written many books including “Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry” (along with John O’Neill), “Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil” (along with Craig R. Smith), “Atomic Iran: How the Terrorist Regime Bought the Bomb and American Politicians,” “Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America’s Borders,” and most recently, “The Late Great U.S.A.: The Coming Merger With Canada and Mexico.” He is also an expert on political violence and terrorism. In 1981, he received a Top Secret clearance from the Agency for International Development, where he assisted in providing anti-terrorism/hostage survival training to embassy personnel.

Link to Comments at KFMB »

Technorati tags: North American Union, World Net Daily, StoppSPP, Jerome Corsi, Rick Roberts, Bush, Detention Facilities, Swift Boat Veterans, USA, America, Canada, Mexico, Borders, Languare, Culture

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Freedom of Religion Watch: House sends religious expression bill to governor

Courtesy of: JonJayRay at Stop The ACLUReligious Expression gets Extra Protection in Texas

It is rather deplorable that this was needed. One would have hoped that the First Amendment alone would have sufficed:

“Texas students would have greater freedom to express their religious views on school campuses under a bill passed Saturday by the House and sent to Gov. Rick Perry, who has publicly supported the measure.

Under the legislation, religious beliefs expressed in homework, artwork and other assignments would be judged by traditional academic standards. Students couldn’t be penalized or rewarded because of the religious content of their work.

Supporters say the bill is needed to protect students from censorship and school districts from lawsuits. But opponents argue it will lead to religious discrimination among students. “We are allowing our young people to express their faith, whatever that faith is,” said Rep. Larry Phillips, a Sherman Republican.

At an April news conference, Perry was surrounded by children and parents who said their religious speech was quashed at public school. Supporters of the bill have cited examples of students being prohibited from wishing troops overseas a “Merry Christmas” or told they couldn’t distribute religious bracelets at recess.

Source: Tyler Morning Telegraph, Sunday, May 27th

No doubt the ACLU will be mounting a court challenge the minute the bill is signed.

(For more postings from JonJayRay, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN.

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