This weekend, FBI agents raided the office of embattled Senator William Jefferson (D-LA). They were looking for (more) evidence of corruption.
And Congress members, especially Republicans, called it an example of the executive branch overstepping their powers.
I'm sorry, what makes an Congress member's office sacrosanct? Are they suddenly granted diplomatic immunity, are they allowed to do whatever illegal activities they want in their offices?
If the officials have a search warrant, even a heavily blacked-out one, what is wrong with serving that search warrant?
The only, the only, thing that is a bit fishy about this is that other corrupt politicians did not have their offices searched (Cunningham, anyone?). But I see nothing wrong with Congressional offices being subject to the same laws as any other place in America.
If I'm missing something, please let me know.
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If you don't see what is wrong with the Executive Branch of the government (aka the President) ordering the FBI to raid the office of a member of another branch of government (Congress), you have missed the entire "seperation of powers" credo on which our entire democracy exists... THAT is what is wrong here...
As far as I read the articles, it wasn't that the President ordered them to do so, but that the DOJ needed to find evidence and had a serach warrant.
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There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.
So you have a problem with the Executive branch serving a search warrant that was issued by a Federal Judge (who is part of the judicial branch last time I checked)? Sounds like the checks and balances are in place.
Why is it that people have such a problem with this, but anytime congress wants to compel someone to testify, subpoena documents, or anything else they desire, they think its perfectly ok?
When I first heard this story, I thought it just another incidence of the corruption of power. Then when I went into the details of how Rep. Jefferson was trying to help Africa overcome its infrastructural inadequacies, I had to consider that this was a case of him trying to bypass the multinational corporations to bring development to Nigeria, Ghana and other West African nations. Yes, he did try to sneak some unacceptable behavior in, but is he the one who has corrupted the African politicians with the dash / bribery? Hell No!
Based upon what I have learned about the case, I see this is another set up of a Black politician with ambitions of independent Pan African development. Toward the aim of developing the continent and leaving it in a position to avert gross manipulation and resource depletion at the behest of the former colonial empires, who use their "dollar colonialism" to keep Africa backwards, I must say that I wish that Rep. William J. Jefferson had been successful in getting the wireless Internet into Nigeria.
Another case of COINTELPRO setting up a politician to look like the fool. Corruption permeats all three branches of the U.S. government. Rep. Jefferson got caught. Others were caught long before him. Bush, Cheney, Rove, Libbey and others...Let's barbeque them in the order of their particular offenses, please!
If he wanted to get the money to Africa better, there is a much better way than to take a $100,000 bribe, stash $90,000 in your freezer and then cry about it when the DOJ actually seraches your office.
The point of law that Congress members are bound by says that Congress members
Where does this apply to Jefferson? It looks like this was indeed a felony. He wasn't arrested going to or attending official business. He wasn't arrested for anything he said in the House -- he was arrested for bribery, and so the DOJ had to search his office.
There.
No one's above the law, even a Congress member
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There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.