The search warrant affidavit, used to raid Jefferson's Capitol Hill office Saturday night, portrays him as a money-hungry man who freely solicited hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and discussed payoffs to African officials.
It said he had a history of involvement in numerous bribery schemes and used his family to hide his interest in high-tech business ventures he promoted in Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon.
In one instance, at an unnamed District of Columbia restaurant, Jefferson was exchanging cryptic notes with investor Lori Mody and discussing illegal kickbacks for his children in a telecommunications venture in Nigeria in which she had invested, the affidavit said.
''All these damn notes we're writing to each other as if we're talking as if the FBI is watching," he told Mody, who was wearing an FBI wire.
About 15 FBI agents entered Jefferson's office in the Rayburn House Office Building about 7:15 Saturday night and left about 1 p.m. yesterday. Authorities said it was the first time the FBI had raided the office of a sitting member of the House of Representatives.
The affidavit was the most damaging material to date in the FBI investigation of Jefferson, 59, who has not been charged and has insisted he is innocent. He is also the subject of a House Ethics Committee inquiry.
The Justice Department is conducting three separate bribery investigations involving members of Congress in both parties. The turmoil increased last week when the House Ethics Committee broke a 16-month partisan gridlock and announced inquiries into the same matters.
On Wednesday, leaders of the committee announced full investigations of Jefferson and Representative Robert W. Ney, Republican of Ohio. They also announced a preliminary inquiry into whether other House members were bribed by defense contractors who corrupted former representative Randy ''Duke" Cunningham, Republican of California. He pleaded guilty and is serving an eight-year sentence.
Earlier this year, Jefferson's lawyers explored the possibility of a plea agreement, according to those familiar with the talks. He changed lawyers recently and has issued vehement denials of wrongdoing as federal investigators move closer to deciding whether to seek his indictment.
