Straight from the Conventional Wisdom bit from this week's Newsweek:
"Warrantless wiretaps? Fine! Everyone's phone records? No problem. Search a Rep's office? Crisis!!"
What could more of them be hiding?! This is about the only time Republicans have come to the defense of a Democrat (Rep. William Jefferson, who also had $90,000 in cash in his freezer; talk about cold, hard cash!). I would have predicted the Republicans would be all over this, as they finally have a scandal going the other way...but, get this, they rush to his defense! Where in the Constitution does it say law enforcement must leave our representatives alone? Maybe I missed something in Civics class...
2 comments:
Sometimes it isn't what you do but how you do it ( and to whom).
DOJ should have tread lightly here because Congress does have the power, under setting jurisdictions of Federal courts, to give themselves an effective " parliamentary immunity" if they wish. Essentially, the FBI should have notified the Speaker of the House, who is the nominal head of the Capitol Hill police as well as a Constitutional officer, when they executed the search. They should also have let the official attorneys for the U.S. House witness the execution of the search.
Basically, the DOJ/FBI made the Congress in general and Hastert in particular, look like jackasses. Not very smart as Congress has oversight over both institutions, controls their budgets etc. and no bill reaches the floor without the Speaker's approval in the Rules Committee.
Hi Mark,
Yes, staffers were quoted as saying they had never seen Hastert so angry when the search was completed. It is just amusing how desperately those in power want things both ways. It will be interesting to see what the House does, if anything, as retribution. I'm not sure how much more infighting the GOP wants going into the midterms.
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