WASHINGTON, 18 June 2006 — Ah, how quickly we forget in the nation’s capital…

Caught red-faced last winter over a growing bribery scandal, Congress vowed to crack down sharply on ethics misconduct.

But now the message from Capitol Hill sounds more like the punch line of an old Saturday Night Live skit: “Never mind.” Friday was a busy day on the Hill. Not only did the House vote to kick out Rep. William Jefferson from the prestigious Ways and Means Committee, but a constitutional showdown between Congress and the Bush Administration moved into Federal Court, as a federal judge questioned lawyers about the legal and historical significance of the FBI’s search last month for evidence of bribery at Jefferson’s legislative offices.

The court arguments centers on whether the search constituted a breach of the separation of powers afforded the three ranches of government under the Constitution, happened as the House unanimously voted to strip Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, of his seat.

Both the political punishment and the legal case appeared to be without precedent. Jefferson has not been charged with a crime, and officials said last month’s FBI search of his Congressional office was a first in 218 years.

The events marked the latest turns in a controversy with legal, political, and racial elements, all centering on the 59-year-old eighth-term lawmaker from New Orleans.

US District Court Judge Thomas Hogan issued the search warrant for Jefferson’s office May 19 after the government said it believed that documents related to its 15-month political corruption investigation of the New Orleans Democrat would be found in the office.

The search of Jefferson’s office began the next night and lasted 18 hours. Assistant US Attorney Roy McLeese told Hogan that the raid, while unprecedented, was constitutional. “There is probable cause to believe the materials recovered from Rep. Jefferson’s office contained evidence of serious crimes,” he said.

Two of Jefferson’s former associates have pleaded guilty to bribing the congressman. And while Jefferson has not been charged, the FBI says they videotaped him receiving $100,000 in cash to give to Nigeria’s vice president. Agents later found $90,000 of that money stashed in a freezer in his D.C. home.

Jefferson’s alleged misdeeds couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Democrats, who are struggling for a unified rallying call before November elections. They had hoped to argue that the Republican leadership of both the Senate and Congress had created a “culture of corruption.”

Republicans currently are struggling with their own corruption scandals, which include Jack Abramoff, once a high-flying lobbyist with close ties to the Republican leadership, who pleaded guilty to influence-peddling; and former Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s guilty plea on bribery charges.

Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, Ca., wanted to take a strong election-year stance on ethics, but Jefferson’s allies — mainly fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus — protested that he was being singled out for unfair treatment.

Oh yes. And Jefferson did not step down gracefully. He charged the vote to remove him from the committee by his own Democratic colleagues — was racially motivated.