House Approves Speedy Jefferson Probe

Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., makes a statement upon his arrival at Washington's National Airport in this May 22, 2006 file photo. Jefferson will be indicted in a bribery investigation involving business deals he tried to broker in Africa, The Associated Press has learned. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, Files) (Lauren Victoria Burke - AP)

WASHINGTON -- The House ordered a speedy internal investigation that could oust indicted Rep. William J. Jefferson from Congress before his bribery trial.

Mindful of anti-corruption sentiment among voters last November, the House passed two resolutions Tuesday that require the ethics committee to investigate charges more quickly than in the past.

Jefferson, meanwhile, resigned his seat on the Small Business Committee in response to his indictment on federal charges of taking more than $500,000 in bribes. Democrats already had moved to take that seat from him. Jefferson admitted no wrongdoing.

The nine-term congressman had few allies among leaders of his own party.

The charges against Jefferson, "if proven true, should lead to the expulsion of the member in question," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who earlier ousted Jefferson from the Ways and Means Committee, issued a similar statement Monday.

That wasn't enough for Republicans, still smarting from losing control of Congress in the November elections partly over ethics breaches of their own members.

Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio offered a resolution directing the ethics committee to report on whether the charges in the indictment merit Jefferson's expulsion. The House passed it, 373-26. Thirteen members voted present.

"Be it resolved," the resolution read, "that the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct is directed to investigate without further delay alleged illegal conduct and violations of House rules by Representative William J. Jefferson and report its findings and recommendations to the House, including a recommendation regarding whether Representative Jefferson should be expelled from the House."

Though harsh, the resolution was toned down by the time of its evening vote. An earlier version included a July 11 deadline for the ethics panel but it was removed because it broached parliamentary rules, according to a draft obtained by the Associated Press.

Expelling a House member before a conviction would be unprecedented, according to the Congressional Research Service. But it was not clear that would happen in Jefferson's case, because the ethics committee could refuse to rule on whether the nine-term congressman should be thrown out of the House, according to a Democratic leadership aide.

Still, Republicans and a few Democrats said publicly or privately that Jefferson should step down.

Several House members said preparing a legal defense would take time Jefferson otherwise might spend representing his hurricane-ravaged New Orleans district.