Only a few congressional representatives have called for indicted Rep. William Jefferson to step down from his congressional seat. Others have said the court of public opinion should reserve judgment until his case is heard in a court of law. It appears that many would breathe a sigh of relief if he were to resign.

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If Jefferson—a nine-time congressman who was indicted Monday on 16 counts of alleged bribery, racketeering, using his office to solicit bribes and obstruction of justice—were to resign, it would save the House the embarrassment of openly debating whether to vote him out. Furthermore, it would save his Louisiana constituents, most of whom are black, from the concern of whether their needs will be met at a time when they're focused on rebuilding the hurricane-ravaged area.

Black political commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson contends it is Jefferson's duty to resign. Hutchinson writes in his weekly commentary, "The Hutchinson Political Report," that Jefferson, who represents the second district of Louisiana and has been very involved in the rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Katrina, owes it to his constituents to resign—the same constituents who returned him to office in the last election even though the federal investigation was well known.

"Now that the legal hammer has fallen, that leaves many in his district scratching their heads in wonder and agony over whether they made the right decision to stay with him, and just exactly what that means for them in the futurem" says Hutchinson. "They viewed him as a leader and their advocate ... If Jefferson is hard-headed enough to try and cling to his seat, this diminishes their political power and influence and creates distrust and dissension among black voters."

Jefferson must resign, argues Hutchinson, "to spare the voters in his district whose trust he badly betrayed the pain of having to be constantly reminded that he did betray them."

Will Jefferson resign? It appears black congressional leaders, while not explicitly calling for Jefferson to resign, wouldn't mind if he did. The Congressional Black Caucus supported a House vote in favor of launching an investigative panel of the ethics committee to determine whether Jefferson violated the House code of conduct. The House also approved a Democratic measure offered by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer requiring the ethics subcommittee to form an investigate panel if any House members are indicted or charged of a crime.

House rules do not require Jefferson to step down from his post at this point. If he were to be convicted and sentenced to more than two years in prison, he could be stripped of his voting privileges. Jefferson did resign from his post on the House Small Business Committee, which is the only such post he held.

Officially, the Congressional Black Caucus is asking that Jefferson not be tried in the "chambers of public opinion" after supporting the House vote.

The House Ethics Committee, chaired by black Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, released this statement: "The Ethics Committee has been in contact with the United States Department of Justice to determine the status of their investigation [into Jefferson] on September 26, 2006, June 9, 2006, and March 15, 2007. Furthermore, I have been in contact with Ranking Member Doc Hastings regarding the indictment of Congressman Jefferson and we have agreed to proceed as we have done in the past to form an investigative subcommittee."

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