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Black Caucus to Nancy Pelosi: Hands Off William Jefferson
The Congressional Black Caucus is in open revolt over House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's attempt to discipline Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., after he was caught red handed with $90,000 in alleged bribe money. And at least one CBC staffer is warning that any move against Jefferson could jeopardize Democrat chances to retake the House this fall. According to Roll Call, Pelosi checked with key members of the CBC before she told Jefferson on Tuesday that he should resign his post on the House Ways and Means Committee "in the interest of upholding the high ethical standard of the House Democratic Caucus." Rather than complying, Jefferson defied the top Democrat - and instead accused her of discrimination, arguing that other ethically challenged Democrats faced no such discipline.
Story Continues Below Things got uglier on Wednesday when some of the same CBC members who had OK'd the Pelosi putsch changed their minds. "A members-only CBC lunch meeting produced an emotional consensus that Pelosi had overreached since Jefferson has not been charged with any crimes," said Roll Call. "One after another, CBC members rallied behind their colleague, arguing that he was being singled out." "I would say that the people who spoke were very vehement in their opposition," CBC member James Clyburn told the paper. Jefferson's defenders cited Rep. Alan Mollohan, who was forced to step aside as the ranking member of the ethics committee but permitted to keep his coveted seat on the Appropriations Committee. "There's no precedent for doing this to someone who has not been indicted," complained CBC member Al Wynn. By late Wednesday, top CBC members, including Charlie Rangel, John Conyers and John Lewis, had informed Pelosi that the entire Black Caucus would publicly oppose any attempt to discipline Jefferson - a move that could severely undermine African American support in this year's mid term election. "I think she's taking us down to the point where on Nov. 8 she'll still be the Minority Leader," an aide to a CBC member told Roll Call, in a none too thinly veiled threat.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: Inside Cover Stories
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