Bribery case puts Demos in tight spot

WASHINGTON — Democrats' plans to make Republican corruption a central theme of their election strategy this year were complicated by alleged wrongdoing in their own ranks, leading the party to try on Monday to blunt the political effects of the unfolding case against Rep. William Jefferson.

Democratic leaders sought to distance the party from Jefferson, the Louisiana Democrat who has been accused by the FBI of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. In doing that the leaders tried to draw a distinction between the allegations against him and what they said was a much broader pattern among Republicans of trading legislative influence for campaign donations, trips and other perks.

Jefferson appeared on Capitol Hill to deny any wrongdoing. Facing a bank of television cameras down the hall from his congressional office, which was raided by federal agents on Saturday night, Jefferson said he would not resign and that he expected to be cleared.

In court documents made public on Sunday, the FBI said Jefferson had taken bribes to help a small technology company win federal contracts and to help the company with businesses in Africa. The FBI said he had concealed $90,000 from the scheme in the freezer of his home in Washington.

"There are two sides to every story," Jefferson said, without providing any details.

For all the intense partisanship that has surrounded the wave of legal and ethical cases on Capitol Hill, the Jefferson case brought some Democrats and Republicans together on one point: that the all-night search conducted by the FBI raised questions about whether the executive branch had violated the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers by carrying out a raid on the official office of a member of Congress.

Sen. Bill Frist, the Republican majority leader, said Monday that he had concerns about the constitutionality of the search and was seeking a legal opinion.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic minority leader in the House, said that "Justice Department investigations must be conducted in accordance with constitutional protections and historical precedent." Some House Republicans said they were also disturbed by the way the search was handled.

"I think it is really outrageous," said Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., who is chairman of the Rules Committee.