Just as Black people were celebrating (for good or for bad) Ray Nagin’s narrow mayoral re-election victory, another political scandal erupted in Louisiana. This past weekend, Congressman William Jefferson (D-La.) was swept into a major corruption scandal.

As part of an investigation of bribery and wire fraud, FBI officials conducted a weekend raid of Jefferson’s congressional offices. The raid was a followup to a series of recorded calls between the congressman and an informant in which they discussed a possible $100,000 payoff for Jefferson’s help in a Nigerian business venture.

Authorities claim that they have video footage of Jefferson in July 2005 accepting cash in a leather briefcase and putting it in his car. The next month they searched Jefferson’s home and found $90,000 in cash wrapped in aluminum foil inside the freezer. The $100 bills found in his freezer had the same serial numbers as the bills in the briefcase that he had previously accepted.

How does Jefferson explain his actions? He doesn’t.

Although he insists that there are “two sides to every story”, the congressman refused to answer questions about whether or not he took a bribe. Instead, he focused on the illegitimacy of the search itself, accurately noting that it is the first congressional office raid in history. He also promised that he would seek re-election.

While some have viewed the Jefferson’s post-raid actions as foolhardy (i.e. “they make him look guilty”), the decision to sidestep questions about his culpability reflect a keen understanding of African American political culture. By focusing on the fact that his investigation was unprecedented and, by implication, racially prompted, Jefferson is able to invoke what Katheryn Russell-Brown calls “Black protectionism.” Similar to the circumstances of DC mayor Marion Berry and Philadelphia mayor John Street (who was innocent), the Black public will likely focus on the corruption inherent in the FBI investigation rather than the allegations against Jefferson in order to shield him from public criticism.

If the cases of Berry and Street are any indication, Jefferson stands a very good chance of being re-elected. Not in spite of the controversy, but because of it.