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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 24, 2006)
œi’1|Jo rtla n h (©bseruer PageA2 (Ehr $ )u rtla tih (fobaeruev Established 1970 USPS 959-680 ________________________________ May 24. 2006 Congressman Denies Bribery Charge 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland. OR 97211 Calls office search ‘outrageous intrusion’ Enirun-in CHitt, P urusm - h : Charles H. Washington EaiTim. M ich a e l L eig h to n Disriuti tion M anager : M ark W ashington C r lativi D irector : P aul N e u fe ld t Office M anager : K athy L in d e r R h - okok : Sarah Blount P u r Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions M anuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and w ill be returned i f accompanied by a sell addressed envelope A ll created design display ads become the sole properly o f the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the w ritten consent o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased the com position o f such ad. © 1996 TH E P O R T L A N D O B S E R V E R . A L L R IG H T S R ESERVED. R E P R O D U C TIO N IN W H O L E OR IN PAR T W IT H O U T PER M ISSIO N IS P R O H IB IT E D The Portland O b server-O regon’ s Oldest M ulticu ltu ra l Publication--is a member o f the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885. and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc. New York. N Y . and The West Coast Black Publishers Association P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer, P 0B o x 31 37 , Portland. 0 R 9 7 2 0 8 CALL 503-288-0033 FAX 503-288-0015 news<ffportlandobser\er.com subssriptim s^portliiM semLiLm (AP) — A congressman under investigation for bribery says he will not resign in the face of allega tions that he was videotaped ac cepting $ I (M),(MM) from an informant, telling reporters, “There are cer tainly two sides to this story.” Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. William Jefferson, called an FBI search of his Capitol office “an outrageous intrusion.” The FBI revealed Sunday that Jefferson was videotaped accept ing $ KM),(MX) in $ 1 CM) bills from an FBI informant. Agents later found the cash hidden in a freezer, accord ing to court documents. A sked if he took a bribe, Jefferson declined to answer. He also declined to talk about the vid eotape or other de tails alleged in an FBI affidavit pre sented to a judge as evidence for a warrant to search his office Saturday night and Sunday. Je ffe rso n , an e ig h t-te rm c o n gressm an who turned 59 in March, maintained his in nocence and said he plans to con tinue voting in the Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., m a k e s a sta te House. “I expect to m e n t upon his arrival at W ashington s National run for re-election, Airport, Monday, M ay 2 2 , 2 0 0 6 . (AP photo) but that’s a matter th a t’s dow n the A historian with the Senate His road,” he said. torical Office said there is no record He called the weekend search of of any m ember’s congressional his Capitol Hill office “an outra office being searched. geous intrusion into separation of A tto rn ey G eneral A lb erto powers between the executive Gonzales, asked about the Jefferson branch and the congressional search, said he understands the branch, and no one has seen this in concerns raised about FBI agents all the time of the life of the Con raiding a congressional office. gress.” “I will admit that these were un usual steps that were taken in re sponse to an unusual set of circum stances," Gonzales said. The search warrant affidavit spells out special procedures put in place to ensure the search did not infringe on privileged m ate rial. The procedures include use o f a “filter team ” o f prosecutors and FBI agents unconnected to the investigation. They would review any seized items or docu ments and determ ine whether the docum ents are privileged and therefore immune from the search warrant. If the status of a document is in doubt, the filter team will give the documents to a judge for a defini tive ruling before giving them to case prosecutors, according to the affidavit. The government says Jefferson received the money in a leather briefcase last July 30 at the Ritz- Carlton hotel in Arlington, Va. The plan was for Jefferson to use the cash to bribe a high-ranking Nige rian official to ensure the success of a business deal in that country, the 100-page affidavit said. All but $10,(MM) was recovered Aug. 3, when the FBI searched Jefferson’s home in Washington. Nagin Re-elected; Calls for Unity Protection Sized To Fit One thing you want your fam ily to always feel is protected. We understand. At American Family Insurance, we feel that way about our fam ily o f customers, too. That’s why our agents are so knowledgeable and eager to try to help you select an auto policy that fits in perfectly w ith your fam ily's needs. No feeling compares to the confidence o f knowing fam ily's got your back, no matter what comes down the road. Visit us at www.amfam.com or call today and talk to a helpful, friendly agent about the variety o f auto coverage options we have to offer. (AP) — Newly re-elected New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin expressed confidence that political opponents and business leaders would unite to rebuild his hurricane-stricken city. “W e’re going to bring this city together. It’s my intention to reach out to every segment o f this com m unity,” Nagin said Sunday, a day after defeating Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu. Nagin said he plans to put together a com m is sion to decide on action in the next l(M) days. Debris removal and housing will be top priorities. The form er cable television executive dis missed threats by some business people who supported Landrieu and said they would leave if Nagin remained in office. “ Business people are predators, and if the economic opportunities are here, they’re going to stay. If not, they are going to leave,” said Nagin, in his now -fam ous vernacular. “I think there’s enough interest around the country that w e’re going to attract top businesses ... G od bless them. I hope they stay but if they don’t. I’ll send them a postcard.” Nagin said he has spoken with Gov. Kathleen Blanco and President Bush, reiterating his desire to work together. Nagin said he pressed Bush to help accelerate New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin a tte n d s a M ass at St. P eter Claver Catholic Church in New Orleans on Sunday, the day after his re-election. (AP photo) the rebuilding process and to aid with removal of the debris. He also questioned the pending end of federal aid for some evacuees still living in Houston and other cities. Oregon Soldiers Deployed to Mid-East Brigade to train Afghanistan ¿irmy American Family Mutual Insurance Company and its Subsidiaries American Standard Insurance Company of Wisconsin Home Office Modtson W/ 53783 American Family Mutual Insurance Company American Standard Insurance Company of Ohio Home Office - Columbus. O H 43240 www amfam com AMERICAN FAMILY ■ ■ n iiiiB n » ©2005 001631 - 7/05 Ail your protection under one roof * In a military ceremony at Camp S h e lb y , M iss., G o v . T ed Kulongoski deployed the nearly 1 ,(XM) soldiers from the Oregon N ational G uard’s 4 I U Brigade SEASONS C om bat Team to A fghanistan M onday, m arking the largest overseas deploym ent o f the O r egon G uard since W orld W ar II. As part o f O peration E ndur ing Freedom, the com bat team will helptrain A fghanistan’s m ili ta ry d u rin g th e y e a r-lo n g deploym ent. The same unit de ployed to Louisiana for nearly two months in the afterm ath o f Hurricane Katrina, where it as sisted with relief efforts. “As the 4 1'1 undertakes this long and difficult deploym ent, I can tell you that we will not only miss their talent and dedication, we will miss their fighting spirit— the same spirit with which they volunteered to serve in the Guard and risk their lives in the defense o f our nation,” Kulongoski said. “ I want everyone who is part o f this mission to know that you take with you my thanks, my d e e p a p p r e c ia tio n , and my prayers. I will not sleep easy until you are all back home and in the loving arms o f your families and com m unities.” I M A R K E T I Republicans Pushed NAACP Probe AT A R B O R L O D G E I a )e, are a reyu fa r pharmacy! W e fill p r e s c r ip tio n s — in c lu d in g a n tib io tic s , h ig h b lo o d p r e s s u r e m e d ic a tio n s , a n ti- d e p re s s a n ts , b irth c o n tro l, a n d m o re . W e h a v e k n o w le d g e a b le , frie n d ly p h a r m a c is ts w h o h a v e th e tim e to s h a r e in fo r m a tio n . O u r p r ic e s a re c o m p e titiv e W e a c c e p t m o s t in s u r a n c e p la n s a n d a re a d d in g o th e r s a s re q u e s te d . w W e s p e c ia liz e in c u s t o m c o m p o u n d in g . M o o t y o u r P h a r m a c is t M el n d a S u tle r Y O U R L O C A L L Y O W N E D , N E IG H B O R H O O D P H A R M A C Y A T A R B O R L O D G E N IN T E R S T A T E A V E N U E & P O R T L A N D B L V D • 5 0 3 .4 6 7 .4 8 4 8 w w w n e w s e a s o n s m a rk e t.c o m • M O N F R I 9 a m -7 p m • SAT 9 a m -6 p m • S U N 1 O a m -4 p m » (A P) — Several R epublican m e m b e rs o f C o n g r e s s f o r w arded constituents* letters to the Internal R evenue Service claim ing the NA A C P had veered into political advocacy, a p o tential v io la tio n o f the civ il rights g ro u p 's tax-exem pt sta tus, a c c o rd in g to d o c u m e n ts released by the N A A CP. The 1RS began looking into the N A A CP about a month be fore the 2(M>4 presidential elec tion after a speech by its C hair man Julian Bond that was largely critical o f President B ush's poli cies. Political cam paigning is p ro hibited under the N A A C P 's tax- exem pt status. The 1RS said its inquiry w ould focus on w hether B ond’s speech was too p o liti cal, and that the investigation is am ong dozens into the a c tiv i ties o f tax-exem pt groups d u r ing the 2004 election season. The N A A CP received more than 500 pages o f docum ents the IRS has gathered to begin its inquiry and posted them on its W eb site. The group had made requests under the Freedom of Information Act. T he docum ents include le t ters that m em bers o f C ongress sent to the IRS on b eh alf o f their constituents. The law m ak e r s in c lu d e S e n s . L a m a r A lex an d er o f T e n n essee and Susan M. C ollins o f M aine, Rep. Jo Ann D avis o f V irginia, the late Sen. Strom T hurm ond o f S o u th C a r o lin a an d fo rm e r Reps. Larry C om best o f T exas and Joe Scarborough o f Florida. All are R epublicans.