A federal judge on Thursday ordered to freeze the assets of Democratic Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana, who was indicted for soliciting bribes worldwide.

The order issued Thursday by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III lists Jefferson's two savings accounts with a combined value of over 470,000 U.S. dollars, plus certain stock holdings.

The congressman, who has maintained his innocence, is scheduled to be arraigned by a federal court on Friday.

On Tuesday night, the House of the Representatives voted overwhelmingly to require the House ethics committee to set up an investigative subcommittee to check Jefferson's dealings.

On Wednesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the second- highest ranked House Democrat, suggested it was time for Jefferson to step down.

Hoyer said the indicted congressman's "effectiveness is substantially impaired," and he should take that into consideration in his decision on whether to remain in Congress.

House rules do not require Jefferson to step down from his post at this point.

But if he were to be convicted and sentenced to prison, he could be stripped of his voting privileges.

House members can be expelled by their fellow lawmakers, but that action is taken only in extreme cases, and it has never been taken against a House member who has not been convicted of a crime.

The charges against Jefferson were announced nearly two years after federal agents reported finding 90,000 U.S. dollars in a freezer in his Washington home.

The veteran New Orleans Democrat now faces 16 criminal counts with prison terms totaling as much as 235 years.

In addition to the racketeering and solicitation charges, Jefferson has also been charged with money laundering, wire fraud, conspiracy and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

He thus became the first sitting member of Congress to be charged under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits corporate bribery.

The charges are based on 11 schemes in which the congressman allegedly solicited bribes for himself and his family from government and business officials in the United States, Nigeria, Botswana, Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome e Principe.

Jefferson, 60, a veteran Democratic lawmaker, was re-elected last November to a ninth term in the House.

Source: Xinhua