House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who stripped embattled Rep. William Jefferson of his seat on a powerful tax committee last year, has decided to put him on the Homeland Security panel, infuriating some Republicans who charge that he could be a security risk.
Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, was kicked off the Ways and Means Committee amid a federal bribery probe, yet still won re-election to a ninth term.
Pelosi is giving him a seat on the panel after Jefferson was outspoken in his criticism of the homeland security agencies that responded to Hurricane Katrina. His appointment must still be formally approved by the rest of the House Democrats.
The decision immediately came under fire from the top Republican on the committee, Rep. Peter King.
"It sends a terrible message," King, R-N.Y., said Friday. "They couldn't trust him to write tax policy, so why should he be given access to our nation's top secrets or making policy for national defense?"
Jefferson, 59, is the subject of a federal investigation into whether he accepted bribes related to a telecommunications deal in Africa. The FBI's evidence against him includes $90,000 found in his freezer - fodder for late-night talk show jokes but not funny to Pelosi, who promised to run the most ethical Congress in history.
A long, long time ago I had a summer job for which it was necessary that I get a security clearance. I had to undergo a FBI background check, take psychological tests, and pass a lie detector test. It was all aimed at determining if I was a security risk, perhaps for blackmail or corruption. Now Congressman William Jefferson, a man subject to an FBI investigation for corruption, will get access to all sorts of classified information due to his perch on the Homeland Security Committee. This guy that Pelosi thinks has a special expertise on Homeland Security because of Hurricane Katrina is also the guy who diverted a National Guard contingent to escort him to his home so he could retrieve his personal belongings. Yeah, he has some expertise. For shame.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who stripped embattled Rep. William Jefferson of his seat on a powerful tax committee last year, has decided to put him on the Homeland Security panel, infuriating some Republicans who charge that he could be a security risk.
Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, was kicked off the Ways and Means Committee amid a federal bribery probe, yet still won re-election to a ninth term.
Pelosi is giving him a seat on the panel after Jefferson was outspoken in his criticism of the homeland security agencies that responded to Hurricane Katrina. His appointment must still be formally approved by the rest of the House Democrats.
The decision immediately came under fire from the top Republican on the committee, Rep. Peter King.
"It sends a terrible message," King, R-N.Y., said Friday. "They couldn't trust him to write tax policy, so why should he be given access to our nation's top secrets or making policy for national defense?"
Jefferson, 59, is the subject of a federal investigation into whether he accepted bribes related to a telecommunications deal in Africa. The FBI's evidence against him includes $90,000 found in his freezer - fodder for late-night talk show jokes but not funny to Pelosi, who promised to run the most ethical Congress in history.
A long, long time ago I had a summer job for which it was necessary that I get a security clearance. I had to undergo a FBI background check, take psychological tests, and pass a lie detector test. It was all aimed at determining if I was a security risk, perhaps for blackmail or corruption. Now Congressman William Jefferson, a man subject to an FBI investigation for corruption, will get access to all sorts of classified information due to his perch on the Homeland Security Committee. This guy that Pelosi thinks has a special expertise on Homeland Security because of Hurricane Katrina is also the guy who diverted a National Guard contingent to escort him to his home so he could retrieve his personal belongings. Yeah, he has some expertise. For shame.
