Politics

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. Improves Reputation of Congress by Entering Plea Bargain Talks

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.) won re-election to Congress while cooling his jets in rehab.

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Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.) won re-election to Congress while cooling his jets in rehab. Now that the election is over, he can get back to the people's business, reports CBS News:

Just days after winning a handy reelection to his Chicago-area district, 17-year Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill., has entered negotiations for a plea deal that would include his resignation from Congress and likely jail time.

Jackson, Jr., the son of civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., and husband to Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson, has not yet pleaded guilty to alleged misuse of campaign funds to decorate his house and purchase a $40,000 Rolex watch for a female friend. But CBS Chicago reports the congressman's lawyer, white-collar criminal defense attorney Dan Webb, is negotiating with the federal government a plea bargain that will likely be reached by year's end. 

Whole thing here.

Such selfless behavior will doubtless help Congress' approval rating soar even higher than the whopping 21 percent it was in October, when it bounced back from a historic low of 10 percent in August. Surely the national legislature—which has failed to produce a budget in years and has refused to insist on its constitutional role in warmaking for decades—is the greatest beneficiary of America's willingness to grade on a curve.

Hat Tip: Real Clear Politics