The Politico reports:

Republicans plan to force a floor vote on Rep. William Jefferson’s move to the Homeland Security Committee in an unprecedented maneuver to force Democrats to go on the record supporting their embattled colleague who is the target of a federal bribery investigation.

House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) pledged to call for a recorded vote on the House floor when Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) introduces a resolution to make the Jefferson move official.

Pelosi removed Jefferson from the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee in response to Justice Department allegations that the Louisiana Democrat had accepted $100,000 in bribes and stored $90,000 of them in his freezer. The speaker then gave Jefferson a seat on the Homeland Security, and Democrats agreed to the change in a closed-door caucus in February.

“The idea that Homeland Security is less important than the tax-writing committee is ludicrous,” Blunt said Wednesday.

The Hill adds:

In an interview with CNN’s Larry King, which aired Tuesday night, [Speaker] Pelosi said that after learning about the $90,000 Jefferson stashed in his freezer, she stripped him of his Ways and Means seat.

“What I said to my colleague is, you have $90,000 in your freezer, whatever the explanation, you have a problem with me,” she told King.

Pelosi then said she named Jefferson to the Homeland Security panel because it has jurisdiction over his storm-ravaged district and because the tax-writing panel deals with some of the business and financial issues involved in the allegations against him while the Homeland Security Committee does not.

“But Mr. Jefferson’s district has been New Orleans, greatly affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. And the committee of jurisdiction there, Homeland Security, is an appropriate place for him to be,” she said. “But I removed him from the Ways and Means Committee, [which] had something to do with the accusations made against him. Homeland Security does not.”

I agree with one Politico commenter’s response: “Seems to me that anyone stupid enough to stash his bribe cash in his freezer is too stupid to be appointed to a serious committee with serious responsiblities for serious matters.”

Yep. It’s the stupidity, stupid.

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Cold Cash Jefferson on Homeland Security Committee
How Dems store their bribes
Foiled again!
Culture of corruption continued

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