Who ordered the FBI to search a congressman's office?

[Cyrano]

Last week, the FBI raided the office of Democratic congressman William Jefferson, searched and seized files, and claimed to have found $100,000 cash in his freezer.

There's no way the FBI did this on their own authority. It sounds like a typical Bush/Cheney/Rove operation to discredit a Democratic congressman. There are also (supposedly) tapes of him taking bribes.

Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert threw a shit fit over this, and rightfully so. The United States Constitution establishes congress, the administrative branch (BushCo), and the judiciary as three co-equal branches of government.

So if they are co-equal, I guess the FBI has the right to push their way into the White House, rifle through Bush's files, and search his freezer. The only problem is that they'd be stopped by the Secret Service. So why didn't the congressional police force stop the FBI?

What happened here is virtually unparalleled in American history. To date, the only one to defend the FBI is senator Bill Frist. I have no idea what he's using to rationalize this, but anyone that can diagnose Teri Schiavo from a couple of thousand miles away must know something we don't know.

In the meantime, we have a Republican controlled congress who damn well better act on this, or maybe one of their offices will be next.

[grasswire]

1. furthermore...

....why was the story put out that Gonzales, Mueller and new Deputy AG Paul McNulty (R-Fixer) would resign if ordered to return Jefferson's materials? That is unbelievable. Bogus. Why was that story put out? And why is McNulty suddenly being pushed into the spotlight over and over again?

[Jane Austin]

2. I believe the cash was found 8 months ago at his home. Jefferson had

had documents subpoened since that time, but had refused to comply.

I think the raid was handled stupidly, but everything points to Jefferson being dirty, and he needs to resign from all committee assignments and cooperate with investigating authorities.

[Cyrano]

3. I don't know all the details of the case, however that does not change

the fact that the executive branch, (of which the FBI is a part) has no authority to enter a congressman's office, anymore than a congressman has the authority to enter Bush's office.

Further, this congressman seems to have already been tried and found guilty in the MSM. Hmmmm.

[Mugu]

7. I going to guess that at least one Federal judge signed off on this.

Allegedly, he had eight months to comply and didn’t. This is going to be quite interesting watch as it travels through the courts.

Regards,

Mugu

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. I believe Congress has their own law enforcement

and the FBI should have gone to them and ask them to remove the materials.

Then no one could bitch. But BushCo is putting the squeeze on and they are exerting their power in many areas.

[kansasblue]

4. take a look at this....

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/5/28/16850/4036

Cheney link?

[Cyrano]

5. If actually is part of a Cheney/Halliburton scheme, Jefferson needs around

the clock protection.

It also explains the raid on Jefferson's congressional office. To Cheney, the constitution is just a piece of toilet paper.

[Patsy Stone]

6. Abu, the DoJ and the FBI

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/23/AR2006052301739.html?nav=rss_politics.

<snip>

Gonzales and other officials said the search was conducted carefully to avoid trampling on the constitutional privileges accorded to members of Congress -- including the use of a "filter team" of FBI agents and prosecutors not connected to the case who vetted documents to be sure nothing unrelated to the investigation or out of bounds was taken. Gonzales and the White House also said the administration had embarked on private talks with lawmakers about the issue.

"We believe, of course, that we've been very careful, very thorough in our pursuit of criminal wrongdoing, and that's what's going on here," Gonzales said. "We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the Department of Justice is doing its job in investigating criminal wrongdoing, and we have an obligation to the American people to pursue the evidence where it exists."

<snip>

The whole thing is curious on many levels. Hastert is obviously fighting this as a proxy battle, Abu and Mueller get all pissy over paper, and Bush tries to not lose the rest of Congress by pretending to care and sealing the docs.

There's soooo much going on here.

[Jane Austin]

10. The weirdest thing in the tug-of-war going on in the administration is

that Cheney and his man Addington (who replaced Libby) sided with Hastert on this one!

Seems that the boy king got caught between Cheney and the professionals in the FBI, along with his buddy Abu Gonzales.

Surprises the hell out of me that Cheney would side with Congress in a question of Executive Branch Power to do something to another branch of the government.

[Patsy Stone]

11. They never do anything

for the "right" reasons. Cheney is saving Cheney -- somehow, some way. There are still plenty of "known unknowns" for sure.

[heartofthesiskiyou]

8. There is definitely a lot going on here..

The primary reason this hasn't happened before is no congressman has ever refused to cooperate with legal subpoenas for eight months like J did. The DOJ investigators, and I'm not talking about the front guys, Gonzales, Muller, et al but the first tier investigators have the biggest corruption scandal reaching more then 15 members that have already been reported, and no telling how many more will get thrown onto the pile, the FBI has ever seen.

Hastert, and friends aren't protecting the constitution they're protecting their records from being viewed. These guys care very little about the Constitution. These guys are at the center of the veritable purchase of the federal government. I'm sure they are quite happy with the arrangement as 45 days should give them all the time they need to get rid of the quid quo pro.

The reason the FBI wanted in there for those documents is they have evidence that there is more evidence of far greater bribes along with the accomplices that J was involved. There are Fritz type investigators at the FBI that want full disclosure and it is in our best interest to support them. Just for the record for the J supporters here need to take a good look at his voting record. You'll find he's a repuke. The congressional black caucus needs re reevaluate their position on this one. They seem to be operating under the assumption the repukes could never be black, and frankly race should not be an issue here.

As far as the spouting the repuke constitutional line that the entrance to the congress, this has already been debunked by even the original "protesters". No one is above the law. A judge who viewed the evidence seen probable cause to issue the warrant. Ha they barged in without a warrant the "constitutional defenders would have some leg to stand on. Congress has gone into even the executive before when it became necessary, first for documents, and later for the recordings of Nixon. Congress has the power to investigate the executive and has used that subpoena power many times to route out untoward activities in the executive.

So all the hyperbole of Hastert et al chicken little flames is BS. You can rest assured that bush's 45 days has put the shredders to work in over time at the capital, the real tragedy to justice. I'm really quite surprised at the swallow hook line and sinker of the disinformation campaign by our side of the isle. Haven't we been calling for investigation of the purchase of government. When the Fritz type folks (and there are actually good Americans still in government out there trying) DO their job finally, shouldn't we be on their side and not actually supporting hastert et al of all people?

[Cyrano]

12. Impossible to say what's really going on here.

You make some excellent points, -- enough to make us feel we're being "had" again by the gangsters running our government. On both sides of the aisle.

At this point, I'm just going to shut up as I don't really know the facts. All I have is ten tons of crap that the MSM has been feeding us.

However, let me ask just one more question. What has happened to our country?

There has always been a degree of corruption in our government. But it seems that we've crashed through corruption, sanity, insanity, and entered a portion of "Alice in Wonderland" that even Alice never reached. How the hell did we let this happen to us?

[heartofthesiskiyou]

13. It was inevitable since the Nixon era

that one day the neocomms would make it all the way to full power. Believe it or not it is the best thing that could have ever happened to the 60's revolution. When people ask what ever happened to the 60's revolution I've been saying for years nothing, it's not over yet. I've always known in my heart that we would leave this place better then we found it. The generation was just to much of an earth event to believe any other way. Any one that was there during Nam would tell you this.
The best is yet to come.

When Martin luther had the dream, we supported him not because of race so much. It was because we had that dream too. The part that said, one day this nation would one day rise up to live out the true creed of it's identity. We are in that long awaited tipping point where we will realize peace on earth for all men. We never saw this as too ideological. Reality has this remarkable thing about it, it is unchanged no matter what anybody thinks about it. The question of a peaceful world where war is a thing of the past, and the faith that god gave us a place that provides for all the peoples needs if we just are able to share the gifts with each other, that inevitable question would reoccur, and reoccur and reoccur, until we answered it. We are in the process of answering that question. After 40 years of working on getting the question answered all I can say is it's about fucking time.

[aikoaiko]

14. technically, the 3rd branch (judiciary) ordered the search.

I just don't get the seperation of branches issue here. The judiciary signed off on the search compelling compliance. This is what the third branch is for.

[mcctatas]

15. That was the way I thought about it too...

Don't search warrants necessarily have to be issued by a judge? I am no constitutional scholar, but I thought that was why we have 3 co-equal branches of gov't...(ok, not so equal since bushco., but in theory anyway). Of course I could be totally wrong, in which case, someone please help me sort this one out?!