« Turner Channels Ran 9/11 Conspiracy Ad on September 11 | Main | More on Mother Moonbat's Jew-Bashing Associates »
September 15, 2005
Congressman Sidetracks Katrina Rescuers to Secure Mystery Box
Posted by Dave Blount at September 15, 2005 12:15 PM
Thank you Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) (no relation to the first black president, William Jefferson Clinton) for helping to demonstrate why it is crucial that oversight from someone other than Louisiana Democrats is applied to the billions upon billions of taxpayer money that the federal government is currently shoveling furiously into that state.
ABC News reports that five days after Katrina first hit, while other New Orleans residents waited on their roofs to be rescued, Jefferson — who as a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee is a guy with lots of juice among bureaucrats — hijacked the National Guard to check on his property and save his personal things from getting wet.
He had a 5-ton military truck and six MPs take him on a tour of flooded areas that he diverted to include his own house. The vehicle pulled up onto his yard so that he could get inside without getting his feet wet. Jefferson poked around inside for an hour while the soldiers — as if they had nothing better to do in the immediate aftermath of Katrina — waited on the porch, until he finally emerged to present them with a laptop, suitcases, and a box about the size of a small refrigerator.
Meanwhile, the truck had been sinking ever deeper into his yard. By the time Jefferson's stuff was finally aboard, the truck was going nowhere. The soldiers he had commandeered signaled a Coast Guard helicopter, which had been engaged in rescuing Jefferson's constituents from their rooftops. The chopper sent down a rescue diver, but Jefferson didn't feel like riding on it — whether he's afraid of heights or didn't want to part company with the mysterious oversized box is not known. The helicopter spent about 45 minutes trying to get him on board before going back to rescuing citizens. Shortly afterward, it ran low on fuel and had to quit.
The National Guard had to send a second 5-ton truck to rescue the first truck, as well as Jefferson and his precious belongings.
But not to worry: "Jefferson insisted the expedition did not distract from rescue efforts."
Possibly shedding some light onto Jefferson's intense commitment to the particular belongings that were rescued, ABC notes that the Congressman has been under federal investigation. His house, his car, and his accountant's house have been raided by the FBI. Federal law enforcement officials want to know if Jefferson used this little mission to move materials relevant to the investigation.
But again, don't worry. Jefferson says he didn't.
With thanks to Wiggins and Byron.
