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Most Corrupt Congressmen
Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned following revelations of salacious messages he sent to male teenage pages, and put the nail in the coffin of Republican "family values" just a month before the 2006 mid-term elections.
Former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) resigned after former aides pleaded guilty in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal.
Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) resigned from the House of Representatives on November 3, 2006, under pressure from fellow Republicans. On October 13 Ney pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements, acknowledging taking trips, tickets, meals and campaign donations from Jack Abramoff in return for official actions on behalf of Abramoff clients. (Los Angeles Times, November 4, 2006)
Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) was the subject of FBI raids in two states as part of an investigation into whether he used his influence to steer almost $1 million in contracts to "Solutions North America," a lobbying firm owned by his daughter and a former finance chief. (Los Angeles Times, October 17, 2006)
Rep. Bill Jefferson (D-LA) is the subject of a corruption probe. In May, the FBI said it had him on tape accepting a bribe of $100,000 cash, $90,000 of which it found in the freezer of his Washington, D.C. home. The Congressman known locally as "Dollar Bill" Jefferson was endorsed for re-election by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who had himself won re-election despite a less than stellar performance during Hurricane Katrina. In the 2006 mid-term election, Jefferson won 30% of the vote, and will participate in a run-off election on December 9 against Louisiana State Representative Karen Carter.