Court rules that the raid on Jefferson's office was illegal
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Fri Aug 03, 2007 at 02:46:42 PM EST
A federal appeals court ruled today that the FBI's raid on Rep. William Jefferson's (D-LA) congressional office last year was unconstitutional. The court has ordered the DoJ to return all privileged documents to Jefferson for vetting, but allowed them to keep the other documents.
The nitty gritty:
Jefferson argued that the first-of-its-kind raid trampled congressional independence. The Justice Department said that declaring the search unconstitutional would essentially prohibit the FBI from ever looking at a lawmaker's documents.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected that claim. The three-judge panel unanimously ruled that the search itself was constitutional but that FBI agents crossed the line when they viewed every record in the office without giving Jefferson the chance to argue that some documents involved legislative business.
The constitutional issue is the "speech and debate" clause, which guarantees Congress the ability to operate independently of the executive. It's unclear how or whether this development will affect the government's case against Jefferson, as none of the seized material was used in his recent indictment on corruption charges.
Sen. Ted Stevens' home raided by FBI, IRS
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Tue Jul 31, 2007 at 10:21:25 AM EST
Federal agents raid the home of Sen. Stevens. (AP)
Yesterday the home of Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) was raided by FBI and IRS agents in connection with their public corruption investigation that has rocked the Alaskan political establishment.
About 15 agents took photos and video, climbing onto the roof at one point. They later carried out a garbage bag full of unidentifiable materials and loaded it into a van. The curtains were drawn during most of the search.
A law enforcement official familiar with the case confirmed the raid on Stevens' home was focused on records related to the ongoing VECO investigation. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
Senator Stevens is continuing to hold his comments until, he says, "after the investigation." That will probably be a good long while, and given the way this case has been developing so far, there are no guarantees that the investigation won't end in criminal charges. Reps. Doolittle (R-CA) and Renzi (R-AZ) welcome you to the club, Senator!
Rep. Rick Renzi raided, too
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 10:33:49 AM EST
Talk about deja vu! I took a look at Roll Call this morning, and saw an article about the FBI raiding a Congressman's property. I thought to myself, "Are they running the same Doolittle story with a different headline?"
Nope, this is a different Congressman, different scandal (we assume), but the same old headache for House Republican leadership. Details are scarce, but it appears Representative Rick Renzi (R-AZ) has been under investigation for both a land deal and steering legislation that favored a big campaign contributor. The agents raided the offices of Patriot Insurance Agency in Sonoita, Arizona, a business listed as belonging to Renzi's wife Roberta - again with the wives!
Renzi is wasting no time in trying to control the damage, both in the public eye and internally with his party.
As a result of the raid, Renzi is stepping down from his seat on the House Intelligence Committee, according to a statement from his office obtained Thursday evening by Roll Call.
"Today, the FBI came to my family's business to obtain documents related to their investigation," Renzi said. "I view these actions as the first step in bringing out the truth. Until this matter is resolved, I will take a leave of absence from the House Intelligence Committee. I intend to fully cooperate with this investigation."
Renzi informed Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) of the raid Thursday afternoon.
Renzi told Boehner what was happening the same day the raid occurred - as opposed to Rep. Doolittle, who waited six days, which undoubtedly made the Minority Leader very happy. Renzi and Doolittle have something else in common, though - yesterday after the story of the raid on his home became big news, Doolittle stepped down from his seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
UDPATE: Via CREW, this Arizona Republic article from last month suggests a possible connection to the US Attorney firing scandal. Arizona US Attorney Paul Charlton, one of the ousted eight, was investigating Renzi on the land swap issue, and contacted Justice Dept. officials after his removal for help in dealing with media inquiries on the connection. This story just keeps getting juicier!
FBI raids offices of Alaska legislators
By Dave Algoso
Posted on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 12:41:43 PM EST
As reported in the Anchorage Daily News:
Federal agents swarmed legislative offices around the state Thursday, executing search warrants in a coordinated series of raids that appeared to target the long-standing relationship between the oil field service company Veco and leading lawmakers.
Included among those whose offices were raided: Senate President Ben Stevens. And every news article feels it's important for you to know that he's the son of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens.
It's still unclear exactly what they were looking for or what they found, but it seems to be connected to the Anchorage-based oil field company VECO Corporation ("The Team That Delivers"). Are we surprised that VECO executives tend to be a major source of campaign cash for many Alaskan politicians?
More as it becomes available. Let us know if you find anything new.
(And I should give a shout-out to RedState, where I first found the story.)
The Paper Chase, ad nauseum
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Mon Jul 31, 2006 at 01:03:43 PM EST
Representative William Jefferson has been granted a reprieve of sorts. A federal appeals court has ruled that Department of Justice investigators cannot begin looking over the materials seized from Jefferson's congressional office until the lawmaker is given the opportunity to review the taken documents and challenge in court their availability under the speech or debate clause.
In the decision on Friday, the appeals court ordered the government to provide Mr. Jefferson with copies of all the documents and computer records seized from his office. Within two days of receipt of the material, the order said, Mr. Jefferson will be allowed to approach a trial court judge to argue that "specific documents or records are legislative in nature" and should be withheld permanently from prosecutors.
If Federal District Court Judge Thomas Hogan, who thus far has not shown himself to be sympathetic to Jefferson's arguments, agrees with the lawmaker that the documents pertain to legislative matters, then federal investigators would be barred from examining them.
Also regarding the Jefferson case: Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar has denied a role in the bribery scheme Jefferson is accused of. Vice President Abubakar is running for President of Nigeria.
Jefferson's papers ruled available to investigators
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Wed Jul 19, 2006 at 02:40:45 PM EST
The judge hearing arguments over Representative William Jefferson's (D-LA) has ruled that federal investigators can look at documents taken from Jefferson's office while Jefferson's legal team appeals his earlier decision that the search itself was legal.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan said granting the delay "would harm the public's interest in a prompt and final outcome of the government's investigation of serious crimes involving a sitting United States congressman running for re-election in November."
Of course, this ruling can be appealed as well.
The Paper Chase, ad infinitum
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Thu Jul 13, 2006 at 02:52:20 PM EST
I'm not convinced it'll ever end. On the heels of US District Judge Thomas Hogan's ruling that the FBI's raid on Rep. William Jefferson's (D-LA) Congressional office was legal, Jefferson and his defense team have filed a motion to stay the ruling pending appeal.
Hogan hasn't said when he'll decide; the point of the motion is to keep the records sealed so that the Justice Department, which is investigating Jefferson on bribery charges, cannot see or use them before all appeals are exhausted. If he rejects their motion, they can ask the District Court panel that will hear the appeal to keep the records sealed.
Jefferson's attorneys, along with several prominent Members of Congress, say the raid and seizure was in violation of federal separation of powers. Jefferson maintains his innocence, and indeed has not actually been charged with anything yet. Timing is important in this case, as Jefferson has declared his intention to run for re-election in November.
Aside from this non-development, the Birmingham News has a good editorial commending Hogan for his ruling. On the subject of Jefferson's argument that the search violated the "Speech or Dbate Clause Privilege" that protects Members' "legitimate legislative acts:"
Taking a bribe, however, is not a "legitimate legislative act," no matter how common it might be.
As Hogan noted, the Speech or Debate Clause doesn't make members of Congress "super-citizens, immune from criminal responsibility." Like members of the co-equal executive and judicial branches, members of Congress are not above the law.
You'd think they wouldn't need a court ruling to tell them that, wouldn't you?
The Paper Chase, Part Trois
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Tue Jul 11, 2006 at 11:56:17 AM EST
Yesterday, soon after I posted on the legal battle between Rep. William Jefferson, Congressional leaders, and the Department of Justice, the judge considering the arguments in that case handing down a ruling. Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan ruled that the FBI's search of Jefferson's office was legal.
In a 28-page opinion, Hogan dismissed arguments by Jefferson and a bipartisan group of House leaders that the raid violated the Constitution's protections against intimidation of elected officials.
Hogan acknowledged the "unprecedented" nature of the case. But he said the lawmakers' "sweeping" theory of legislative privilege "would have the effect of converting every congressional office into a taxpayer-subsidized sanctuary for crime."
More details in this AP story.
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