Once again the administration has once again stepped into a political buzzsaw involving issues of separation of powers.
And, it now turns out, the government reportedly knew that this raid was indeed unprecedented — which suggests bipartisan concerns over this not being separation-of-power as usual have some foundation.The Washington Post reports:
An unusual FBI raid of a Democratic congressman's office over the weekend prompted complaints yesterday from leaders in both parties, who said the tactic was unduly aggressive and may have breached the constitutional separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government.
Rep. William J. Jefferson (La.), who is at the center of a 14-month investigation for allegedly accepting bribes for promoting business ventures in Africa, also held a news conference in which he denied any wrongdoing and denounced the raid on his office as an "outrageous intrusion." Jefferson, who has not been charged, vowed to seek reelection in November.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...052201080.html
How seriously do members of Congress view it? Consider: Democrats were going to partly run on the Republicans' "culture of corruption" theme. When details about the Jefferson case hit the news media, Republicans seemed poised to use this case to throw back at the Democrats to show their party has its share of hanky-panky, too. But Republicans are upset about this raid, too — so they're speaking out:
The Saturday raid of Jefferson's quarters in the Rayburn House Office Building posed a new political dilemma for the leaders of both parties, who felt compelled to protest his treatment while condemning any wrongdoing by the lawmaker. The dilemma was complicated by new details contained in an 83-page affidavit unsealed on Sunday, including allegations that the FBI had videotaped Jefferson taking $100,000 in bribe money and then found $90,000 of that cash stuffed inside his apartment freezer.
Republican leaders, who previously sought to focus attention on the Jefferson case as a counterpoint to their party's own ethical scandals, said they are disturbed by the raid. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said that he is "very concerned" about the incident and that Senate and House counsels will review it.
And CBS, in a CBS/AP report, notes that the government knew this raid was unprecedented:
House Speaker Dennis Hastert said the Justice Department had never before crossed a line that separates Congress from the executive branch by searching a congressional office while investigating a member of Congress.
CBS News has learned that FBI officials considered Saturday night's raid of Jefferson's office so sensitive that they activated a special command center to monitor the unprecedented search.
CBS News correspondent Gloria Borger reports that operation was the latest step in an investigation that's been underway since last year, and which plays out like a parody of Washington corruption.
So you have two issues here (a) the investigation of Jefferson and (b) the fact the government just expanded its powers by changing the conventional wisdom. Was it legal? Probably. But that may not be enough to stem unease growing in many quarters. Bloomberg's report is even more blunt:
House and Senate leaders challenged the constitutionality of an FBI raid on a lawmaker's office, saying it broke a 219-year precedent and raised concerns about the separation of power between the administration and Congress.
``The actions of the Justice Department in seeking and executing this warrant raise important constitutional issues,'' House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, said in a statement last night. ``I expect to seek a means to restore the delicate balance of power among the branches of government that the founders intended.''
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Majority Leader Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, also expressed concern about the constitutional implications of the Saturday night raid of Louisiana Democratic Representative William Jefferson's office in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill.
.... Hastert said in his statement that every congressional office contains documents protected by the constitutional principle of the separation of powers. Those protections, and the independence of the legislative branch, ``must be respected in order to prevent overreaching and abuse of power by the executive branch,'' he said.
The speaker said it ``would appear'' that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was aware the Justice Department had entered ``constitutionally suspect grounds'' in conducting the raid because the FBI suggested in seeking a warrant that it would create special procedures to step around the constitutional issues.
``It is not at all clear to me that it would even be possible to create special procedures that would overcome the constitutional problems that the execution of this warrant has created,'' Hastert said.
He said that ``since the founding of our republic 219 years ago, the Justice Department has never found it necessary to do what it did Saturday night, crossing this separation of powers line in order to successfully prosecute corruption by members of Congress.'' Hastert said the materials sought in the search of Jefferson's office had already been subpoenaed and that ``all the documents that have been subpoenaed were being preserved.''
http://www.themoderatevoice.com/post...48408499.shtml 
Offer passive resistance-wherever you may be, forestall the spread of this administration before it’s too late, before they start attacking other countries under false pretences, before the world is reduced to rubble, and Our Nation’s last young women and men have given their blood on some foreign battle field for the hubris sub-human regime that has taken over the U.S. And we must never let anyone take our government over again! Bush and Cheney on 911 interviewed behind closed doors, refused to take an oath, refused to allow tape recordings and ensured no transcript be kept but they tell us (citizens) they can spy on who ever they choose. Tell Congress to do their job as they pledged to the American people and God to do! Impeach and Indict this administration for TREASON! Remember any PEOPLE are responsible for the regime they are willing to put up with! http://www.impeachbush.org/site/PageServer http://www.peoplejudgebush.org/crimes.shtml
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