Are you as sick and tired with the modern day crop of congressional representatives? These people have completely forgotten the reason they have been elected. If serving in office is viewed as a sure path to vast personal wealth, then our country is doomed to be run by self-serving carpetbaggers who will throw anyone under the bus to stay in power and preserve the gravy train.
With all the screams about the NSA programs and lack of court-issued supoenas, what are they complaining about? Everything was executed in accordance to their standards.
From IBD:
Posted 5/24/2006
Government: When FBI agents raided Rep. William Jefferson's office over the weekend, congressional leaders cried foul. But the only thing foul in all this is the stink of corruption rising from Capitol Hill.
House Republican leaders immediately jumped to defend Jefferson, a Democrat, saying the raid by federal agents overstepped the bounds of what's permissible under the Constitution's separation of powers clause.
"My opinion is that they took the wrong path," said Speaker Dennis Hastert after meeting with President Bush on the matter. "They need to back up, and we need to go from there."
Majority Leader John Boehner called it an "invasion of the legislative branch," and predicted it would ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.
"I am sure there will be a lot more said about this," he said.
On that point we agree. But the "lot more said" might not be favorable to Boehner's party or the institution of Congress.
Since at least the 1970s, Congress has issued thousands of subpoenas to the executive branch — so many that Cabinet members have complained they have no time to do their jobs because they're too busy answering congressional subpoenas. We've heard nary a peep from them about this "intrusion" on the executive.
Jefferson, who represents New Orleans, allegedly was caught on tape taking a bribe of $100,000. A search of his home found $90,000 in questionable cash stored in, of all places, a freezer. Nine months ago — nine months! — the FBI requested from a judge a subpoena for evidence of bribe-taking in Jefferson's office. The judge granted it; Jefferson and Congress ignored it.
We can't say for sure if Jefferson is guilty. But with all of Congress' corruption cases — including those involving West Virginia Democrat Allan Mollohan, under investigation for bribery, and California Republican Duke Cunningham, doing time for the same — where does Congress get off acting as if its prerogatives are being stepped on by an FBI looking for evidence?
The FBI in the Jefferson case bent over backward to avoid all appearances of impropriety. It had a subpoena from a judge. It made sure the agents who conducted the raid weren't involved in the investigation. There was no fishing expedition here or harassment.
We agree there are legitimate concerns about the separation of powers, so vital to the working of our democracy. The Constitution recognizes this by making members of Congress immune from arrest while traveling to or from Congress. And, under the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause, members have some immunity from prosecution for crimes resulting from official duties.
But the protections extend only so far.
In two key decisions — the United States v. Brewster, and Gravel v. United States — the Supreme Court narrowed Congress' privilege from outside legal prosecution. Most specifically, in Gravel, the court ruled that the Speech or Debate Clause "does not privilege either senator or aide to violate an otherwise valid criminal law in preparing for or implementing legislative acts."
Jefferson's doesn't sound like a winning case to us.
Does separation of powers mean that Congress can ignore a subpoena, even when it's been vetted and approved by the judicial branch? Is Congress a law unto itself?
The answers, we think, are no. And we'll bet that average Americans, who hold Congress in lower regard than Bush or the high court, will agree.
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