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Do They All Look Alike? FOX News Shows Wrong Black Congressman Indicted
By Aysha Hussain
June 05, 2007
Last night, FOX News reported on one of the biggest corruption cases in U.S. history, but the news channel apparently thinks all black Congressmen look alike. While telling the story of Democratic Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson's indictment of 16 counts of bribery, the channel showed the picture of long-time Michigan Congressman John Conyers, also a Democrat but certainly not in any trouble.
Jefferson has temporarily stepped down from his post on the House Small Business Committee.
TPM Media, the Talking Points Memo, was one of the first to expose the FOX News broadcast, as reported on AlterNet.com. Watch the video. In the video, TMP's Joshua Micah Marshall contended that only a few weeks ago, FOX portrayed black people as fraudulent voters. FOX told USA Today that it was an "inadvertent error" and said it plans to apologize to Conyers during this afternoon's news broadcast.
Conyers is a very well-respected longtime leader, who has served in the House since 1965 and in January became chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He is considered one of the most liberal members of Congress.
Jefferson, Louisiana's first black congressman since the end of Reconstruction, reportedly used his office to broker business deals in Africa, allegedly receiving more than $500,000 and millions more in bribes. He is the first U.S. official to face charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits corporate bribery overseas.
Jefferson is being indicted for bribery, including racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money laudering, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi already has decided that if he is found guility, he will be stripped from his seat.
"If these charges are proven true, they constitute an egregious and unacceptable abuse of public trust and power," said Pelosi. "Democrats are committed to upholding a high ethical standard and eliminating corruption and unethical behavior from the Congress."
But Democrats fear Pelosi's fierce ousting may result in a rift between House relations and black lawmakers such as the Congressional Black Caucus, who have sided with Jefferson throughout his two-year controvery, which began after $90,000 in cash was found in his Washington, D.C., home.
No decision has been made on what will happen to Jefferson. However, Democratic committee members will gather later this week to consider whether to remove Jefferson from his last committee post: a seat on the Small Business Committee.
While some senior House Democratic leadership aides say Jefferson will almost certainly be dropped, other leaders including Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., House Democratic Caucus chairman, said Jefferson may be requested to resign from the House, reports The Washington Post.
"I can't imagine that based on what's happened and what we've done [on ethics-rule changes and lobbying legislation] that at the very least, he'll be asked to step down from committee," said Emanuel. "We've set down a pretty clear marker about what's going to be expected."
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