Why Rep. Jefferson must go

House Speaker Dennis Hastert told President Bush yesterday that the FBI's raid of Rep. Jefferson's congressional office was unconstitutional. [The Hill] Regardless of whether the raid was constitutional, the allegations that Jefferson (D-La.) influenced legislation in exchange for cash have to be taken very seriously. Last July, Jefferson was caught on video accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from an FBI informant, money he was apparently going to use to bribe a Nigerian official. In August, the FBI seized $90,000 of the money from the freezer in Jefferson's DC home. [AP] Almost as disturbing was Jefferson's personal use of National Guard resources during Hurricane Katrina. [ABC News]

This excellent post at Daily Kos sums up why the Democratic Party's leadership needs to call for Rep. Jefferson's resignation:

"Memo to Dem Caucus: Demand Jefferson's resignation" [Daily Kos]

UPDATED 5/24/06:

Today, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) sent Jefferson a letter asking him to resign, and he wrote back refusing to step down. Crooks and Liars has copies of both letters. [CrooksandLiars]

Contact information for House Representatives [House.gov]

UPDATED 5/25/06:

In yet another interesting twist in this story, President Bush ordered that the documents seized during the FBI's raid of Jefferson's home be sealed for 45 days, and put in the custody of the solicitor general. This is a smart move on the part of the President, because congressional leaders from both parties view the FBI's raid as yet another example of the executive branch taking a step beyond its under the separation of powers doctrine. [CNN]

Meanwhile, some Democratic House Reps are claiming that Pelosi's call for Jefferson's resignation was "discriminatory." [The Hill] If I could conceive of any legitimate reason for a congressman to have $90,000 stuck in his freezer, I might take that charge more seriously.