Congress is not above the law
Speaker Hastert and other House members condemn the FBI raid on Congressman Jefferson as an unconstitutional breach of the separation of powers. As a good conservative Republican, I think we should look to the original text of the Constitution on this matter:
The Senators and Representatives … shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
Isn’t stealing a few hundred thousand dollars a felony?
Bloggers are on the story (link below each excerpt):
Second, I find the outrage that some sort of separation of powers has been violated to be a little silly. It already feels like congresspersons have some sort of diplomatic immunity and can basically get away with murder in DC. I am not sure about you all, but I am pretty sure if I got loaded, rammed my car all along Pennsylvania Avenue at 3 am, and then slurred all over the Capitol Police, I would be given a chauffered ride home. My general attitude is they should be treated like the rest of us MORE OFTEN.
Third, I am afraid to search the blogosphere, because I know I will find idiotic statements like this offering from our own resident rabble-rouser:
Personally, I think it is quite reasonable that the DOJ would raid Jefferson’s office, but not the offices of DeLay, Ney, Doolittle, Pomobo, Harris, Lewis, or any of the other Republicans under investigation.
That statement, although offered in jest here (at least I think it was- it is DougJ, after all), will probably be echoed with fervent earnestness elsewhere (perhaps by the Jane Hamshers of the left?), but is just silliness. It unfairly impugns the integrity of the FBI by suggesting they are nothing more than a politically motivated hit squad, it fails to recognize the length and seriousness of the current inquiry into Jefferson’s behavior, and it fails to acknowledge the fact that they had a warrant to search his office- something, unless I am mistaken, must be signed off by the judiciary.
This is apparently the first time ever that a search warrant has been carried out on the official offices of a member of Congress. Many in Congress believe that this search violated the separation of powers as set out in the Constitution (presumably in Article I, Section 6). The White House is claiming that it had no advance knowledge of the FBI raid on Jefferson’s offices. That may or may not be true, but this search has ended a tradition - perhaps even an unwritten rule - dating back to the 1780’s that congressional offices are immune from searches by the executive branch. Willingly or not, the Bush Administration has opened yet another constitutional can of worms with this past weekend’s raid.
CHT’s Community Blog - Opening Yet Another Can of Worms
You don’t have to be a Glenn Greenwald to see the irony in a GOP-led Congress that doesn’t become concerned about the Bush Administration’s aggressive approach to privacy issues until it impacts one of their own:
Decision ‘08 » Blog Archive » Congress To Prez: Invade MY Privacy? Never
After years of quietly acceding to the Bush administration’s assertions of executive power, the Republican-led Congress hit a limit this weekend.
Resentment boiled among senior Republicans for a second day on Tuesday after a team of warrant-bearing agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation turned up at a closed House office building on Saturday evening, demanded entry to the office of a lawmaker and spent the night going through his files.
The episode prompted cries of constitutional foul from Republicans — even though the lawmaker in question, Representative William J. Jefferson of Louisiana, is a Democrat whose involvement in a bribery case has made him an obvious partisan political target.
Speaker J. Dennis Hastert raised the issue personally with President Bush on Tuesday. The Senate Rules Committee is examining the episode.
F.B.I. Raid Divides G.O.P. Lawmakers and White House - New York Times
House members, in a bipartisan manner, are bitching about the FBI’s raid of an apparently dirty Louisiana Representative’s office.
Tell you what. Let’s pick 435 American citizens at random, and raid their houses and offices, collecting all evidence of any crimes and putting it in a pile. Then, let’s raid the homes and offices of all 435 Representatives and do the same. Let’s just see which pile is bigger.
evolution: i’m at peace with my lust
I was having a discussion about this with Robert, and we kind of agree that the FBI should search MORE offices. After all, what’s in those offices belongs to US.
Robert: I think so too… that seems to be the “checks and balances” that are supposed to happen.
Michael: I think FBI officers with high security clearances should be REQUIRED to go through records of each and every congressman once every two years.
Gay Orbit » Congressional Office Searches
You have to admire them…
…Congress continues to find ways to embarrass themselves. Most people know when to admit defeat, Congressional leaders don’t.
“Tis but an unconstitutional scratch!”
It’s quite sad, really. This institution was once home to great people, now look at who we’re stuck with. I’d trade the whole lot of them for a single pint of Guinness. Fuck that, I’d trade the whole lot of them for a pint of Bud Light.
Leaning Towards the Dark Side: You have to admire them
Jefferson refuses to quit Ways and Means
“In the interest of upholding the high ethical standard of the House Democratic Caucus, I am writing to request your immediate resignation from the Ways and Means Committee,” wrote House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi in the one-sentence correspondence.
Leaving Speaker Dennis Hastert to twist slowly on the rope of protecting corrupt Congressmen from the law, Hatchet-Face Pelosi snatches the chair of ethical action out from under his two left feet and saves the Democrats some grief. But…
The Louisiana Democrat was defiant. “With respect, I decline to do so,” he wrote back to Pelosi.
The Owner’s Manual: Pelosi Dropkicks Fat Hastert
Officials: Hastert “In the Mix” of Congressional Bribery Investigation.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation by the FBI, which is seeking to determine his role in an ongoing public corruption probe into members of Congress, ABC News has learned from senior U.S. law enforcement officials.
What a coincidence it was when Hastert and Palosi both denounced the FBI’s audacious critter-crunching. Hatchet-face we expected given the lowlife was a Dem (but I repeat myself), and we’re pleased she ordered Jefferson off Ways and Means.
The Owner’s Manual: Hastert’s asininity explained
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m having a hard time believing that Rep. Jefferson is being treated unconstitutionally, or even unfairly, in this matter.
For one thing, Jefferson could easily have avoided having his office searched by simply cooperating with the on-going investigation into his dirty dealings. From the Justice Department’s request for a warrant to search Jefferson’s Congressional offices:
The government has exhausted all other reasonable methods to obtain these records in a timely manner short of requesting this search warrant. A member of Congressman Jefferson’s staff has indicated to law enforcement agents that records relevant to the investigation remain in Congressman Jefferson’s Capitol Hill office, which the government has been unable to obtain to date. Left with no other method, the government is proceeding in this fashion.
If Jefferson had simply handed over the relevant evidence all this could have been avoided. He didn’t, probably thinking that the prosecutors wouldn’t dare break precedent and search his Congressional offices.
But even now that his offices are being searched it is worth noting that the Justice Department is going through great pains - including keeping the Courts eminently involved in the process - to respect the law and Rep. Jefferson’s rights as a Congressman.
Say Anything: Congressional Leaders Complaining About Search Of Jefferson’s Office
The Republicans have set up their circular firing squad and are firing away in an effort to look as imperialistic and bombastic as possible. Not to mention uniformed:
House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) told President Bush yesterday that he is concerned the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) raid on Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) congressional office over the weekend was a direct violation of the Constitution.
Hastert raised concerns that the FBI’s unannounced seizure of congressional documents during a raid of Jefferson’s Rayburn office Saturday night violated the separation of powers between the two branches of government as they are defined by the Constitution.
Unannounced (emphasis mine)? They Congressional lawyers knew of the request for documents, made copies and then all of a sudden decided not to turn them over at the last minute. The FBI was forced to get a warrant - from a judge - and get the information the old fashioned way. So I don’t know who is misreporting this, but the facts are this was not unannounced.
The Strata-Sphere » Blog Archive » Hastert Stumbles and Bumbles
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
FindLaw: U.S. Constitution: Article I -
I gotta go with President Bush and the FBI on this one.
Will Goodling sing?
On Goodling’s Immunity
Murtha is ‘broken, worn out’
We need more suits on the ground
MSM, Sports Division and baseball doping