In the Cooler
I don’t like to kick a man when he’s down—but first he’s got to go down:
Before searching Rep. William J. Jefferson’s New Orleans home in August 2005, FBI agents confronted him with a video that showed him accepting $100,000 from a government informant, according to a prosecution document filed yesterday in federal court in Alexandria.
Afterward, the Louisiana Democrat sank back into a couch in his living room and “with total dejection remarked ‘what a waste,’ ” according to the government account, which did not elaborate on his comment.
Jefferson then “questioned how his reputation could survive” and expressed concern whether the search warrant affidavit could be permanently sealed to keep the information from being made public, according to the document.
If he wants his reputation to survive, he might start by making a complete and unqualified admission of everything. Weasels have no reputations.