Congressional privilege?

Rep. William Jefferson (D, New Orleans) had the National Guard take him on a tour of the town as the waters were rising.

Had them stop at his house for an hour while he collected his stuff, too.

The Louisiana National Guard tells ABC News the truck became stuck as it waited for Jefferson to retrieve his belongings.

The soldiers signaled to helicopters in the air for aid. Military sources say a Coast Guard helicopter pilot saw the signal and flew to Jefferson’s home. The chopper was already carrying four rescued New Orleans residents at the time.

A rescue diver descended from the helicopter, but the congressman decided against going up in the helicopter, sources say. The pilot sent the diver down again, but Jefferson again declined to go up the helicopter.

After spending approximately 45 minutes with Jefferson, the helicopter went on to rescue three additional New Orleans residents before it ran low on fuel and was forced to end its mission.

“Forty-five minutes can be an eternity to somebody that is drowning, to somebody that is sitting in a roof, and it needs to be used its primary purpose during an emergency,” said Hauer.

Hey, man – got my stuff, too bad about yours. People of New Orleans, take a look at your leadership…take a look at Ray Nagin’s unused schoolbuses, and Rep. Jefferson’s rescued possessions, and Governor Blanco’s dithering and Sen. Landrieu’s inability to make sense. If you return to Louisiana, please DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND VOTE IN SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE YOUR BEST INTERESTS AT HEART!

Bill Hobbs takes on those who are trying to find a plausible excuse for those unused buses. No matter how you slice it…the available buses WERE NOT USED.