Jefferson Election Loans Go Back To Donor
by Bruce Alpert - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

WASHINGTON -- Former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, who last month lost the House seat he had held for nine terms to Republican newcomer Anh "Joseph" Cao, reported returning "various loans" to his campaign after the contributor asked for the money back.

Neither the amount of the loans nor the name of the lender were disclosed in Jefferson's Dec. 19 report to the Federal Election Commission. Calls to Jefferson's New Orleans home were not returned.

Jefferson, facing a federal corruption trial this year, reported that overall he had raised $440,880 for his re-election campaign, $61,725 in the most recent reporting period, Nov. 17 through Dec. 26. He reported $254,777.59 in loans either made by himself or that he guaranteed repayment, of which $28,262.93 has been repaid.

Cao reported raising $151,912 for his underdog campaign, four-fifths of it in the Nov. 17-Dec. 26 period, indicating that donors were drawn to his campaign, one of three congressional elections settled after the Nov. 4 general election. Cao, a lawyer, loaned his campaign $68,218.67 either directly or through loans that he guaranteed. Of that amount, he reported that $50,000 had been repaid.

Jefferson's donors during the most recent reporting period included some union PACs, among them the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers, with a $1,000 contribution for a total campaign donation of $2,000; the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, $1,500; and the Asbestos Workers, $1,000.