Posted on 05/24/2006 12:06:22 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Democrats sought to get embattled Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record) to resign his seat on the House's most prestigious committee.
"In the interest of upholding the high ethical standard of the House Democratic Caucus, I am writing to request your immediate resignation from the Ways and Means Committee," wrote House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi in the one-sentence correspondence.
The Louisiana Democrat was defiant.
"With respect, I decline to do so," he wrote back to Pelosi."I will not give up a committee assignment that is so vital to New Orleans at this crucial time for any uncertain, long-term political strategy."
Earlier, House Speaker Dennis Hastert demanded that the FBI surrender documents it seized and remove agents involved in the weekend raid of Jefferson's office, under what lawmakers of both parties said were unconstitutional circumstances.
"We think those materials ought to be returned," Hastert said, adding that the FBI agents involved "ought to be frozen out of that (case) just for the sake of the constitutional aspects of it."
The Saturday night search of Jefferson's office on Capitol Hill brought Democrats and Republicans together in rare election-year accord, with both parties protesting agency conduct they said violated the Constitution's separation of powers doctrine.
Support from a majority of the House would be required to strip Jefferson of his seat on the panel. It was not immediately clear whether such a vote has been planned, according to knowlegable officials of both parties who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Jefferson, meanwhile, on Wednesday filed a motion asking U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan to order the FBI to return all of the documents taken from his office during the 15-hour search. Hogan was the judge who last Thursday issued the warrant authorizing the search.
The congressman also asked that FBI and Justice Department attorneys be prohibited from reviewing the documents and that they be locked up until the judge acts on the motion.
Jefferson's motion said the search violated "speech and debate" protections in the Constitution to insure the independence of lawmakers.
Presidential administrations and the Congress have routinely subpoenaed information from each other, and often they have refuse to cede the materials sought.
This is the first time the branch seeking the information dispatched its law enforcement arm to wrest information from the office of a sitting congressman who is the target of a probe.
Republicans, meanwhile, were being careful to protest the raid without defending Jefferson, in an increasingly tense relationship with the White House over its use of executive power.
A day earlier, Hastert, R-Ill., complained personally to President Bush about raid. Other House officials have predicted that the case would bring all three branches together at the Supreme Court for a constitutional showdown.
In April, Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., personally told Bush that "the president doesn't have a blank check" during a discussion of Bush's domestic wiretapping program.
Hastert kept up the drumbeat after the FBI's raid of Jefferson's office.
"My opinion is that they took the wrong path," Hastert said after meeting with Bush in the White House. "They need to back up, and we need to go from there."
The developments are the beginning of what lawmakers predict will be a long dispute over the FBI's search of Jefferson's office last weekend. Historians say it was the first raid of a representative's quarters in Congress' 219 years.
FBI agents searched Jefferson's office in pursuit of evidence in a bribery investigation. The search warrant, signed by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan, was based on an affidavit that said agents found $90,000 in cash wrapped and stashed in the freezer of Jefferson's home.
White House officials said they did not learn of the search until after it happened. They pledged to work with the Justice Department to soothe lawmakers.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales tried to strike a conciliatory tone, saying, "We have a great deal of respect for the Congress as a coequal branch of government." But he also defended the search: "We have an obligation to the American people to pursue the evidence where it exists."
Justice Department officials said the decision to search Jefferson's office was made in part because he refused to comply with a subpoena for documents last summer. Jefferson reported the subpoena to the House on Sept. 15, 2005.
I've seen people make this claim, but I have not seen any substantive backup to support the claim. On what grounds do you base your statement?
yeah thats him, I think during a ballid
Thanks! Great Turbo eating popcorn graphic.. LOL
Of course the way this is going, his next position will be with Bubba in a Federal prison.
"In consideration of your immediate resignation from the Ways and Means Committee, I will appoint you to the House Ethics Committee..."
[to Brucie] Dude, take a lesson from Bono or something...
"I'm not leaving and you can't make me!" LMAO
Man! these clowns in Congress just have no lives!
too bad there's no way we can get term limits so these morons would be FORCED to go out and get a reeeeel job!
I think Hastert, Boehner, Frist and Gingrich have just provided the donks with another "article of impeachment" if they take over the house in Nov. Thanks guuys for shooting from the hip before taking the time to determine with what restraint and care the feds took before going into the donk's office.
They have given cover temporarily to a corrupt donk that is about to take a big fall here shortly. Fortunately, most freepers, repubs and bloggers are siding with Bush and the DOJ on this, giving Bush a much needed break. However, it definetely hurts the party though.
"secondly it really was a Constitutional violation"
I understand your post but at the same time Jefferson is under a federal investigation for bribery. Who is supposed to search his office? I know investigators (FBI) went thru Congress's legal council to request documents but they were denied. In light of finding the evidence of the $90K in Jefferson's freezer, don't the fed investigators have every right to proceed with a search? They even got a signed warrant. Who's supposed to search a Congressman's office..a bunch of illegals? Bakers from Philly?
I understand what you are posting however it basically means that under no circumstances will any congressman ever have to answer to the law, which really CHAPS me.
He will be re-elected in Nov too.
Well things are getting interesting....should I turn on the TV to see if Nancy is yapping about Culture of corruption?
Hmmmmm
Reading this literally, one would assume that there are TWO FBI's....The Republicans have theirs and apparently there is a Democrat FBI somewhere. Of course, it is just a twisting of fact to push an agenda where the EVIL REPUBLICANS control all Law Enforcement apparatus and unleash those hit squads on the saintly Democrats whenever they feel the urge.
How many people just swallow this stuff and subconsciously digest it? You can bet every waste of air at DU knows it as gospel.
LOLOL
That theme may be 'On Hiatus'..
'Til next week. ;-)
What a great poker hand by Hastert. By opening his mouth, he was able to turn a corrupt donk's huge problem into a Bush and Gonzalez's problem and handed the football off to the MSM to run with it.
Remind me someone. Didn't Congress DEMAND access to Nixon's tapes so they could impeach him? Talk about separation of powers.
Remind me someone. Didn't Congress DEMAND access to Nixon's tapes so they could impeach him? Talk about separation of powers.
And will the good folks of New Orleans revote this crook into office?
What "uncertain, long-term political strategy" was Jefferson referring to, "upholding the high ethical standard of the House Democratic Caucus" or pursuing the charge of "culture of corruption" of Republicans?
-PJ
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