When I sent an e-mail and in my voicemail message I said that Hastert is wrong about how it's unconstitutional to search a Congressman's office.
I referred him to this link which states:
In U.S. v. Nixon, the court held that executive privilege did not extend to preventing criminal investigations. The court said:
We conclude that when the ground for asserting privilege as to subpoenaed materials sought for use in a criminal trial is based only on the generalized interest in confidentiality, it cannot prevail over the fundamental demands of due process of law in the fair administration of criminal justice. The generalized assertion of privilege must yield to the demonstrated, specific need for evidence in a pending criminal trial.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=418&page=683
Credit Dirtboy for finding that link.
Thanks for that info!
That appears to have been a dumb move.
If you want to tick a judge off ignore a subpoena he has issued. The time to convince the judge that his subpoena was illegal was many months ago.
So with the subpoena ignored for month after month the judge issued a search warrant. And we are off to the races.
The only real recourse for congress is to take their case to court. This has about as much sense as telling the Judge, "You don't have the power to fine me.. Your Honor!!" Bet the farm that before you can say "the excrement hit the fan" the judge will fine you... the maximum amount.
It will be hard to win an appeal. How your case is the courts do not have the right to issue such subpoenas and have them enforced is unconstitutional when the house refused to even answer the courts subpeona.
I think the house has lost a lot of Turf from just plain suptidity.
I noted that the Justice Department gave the House several hours notice of what was coming before they exercised the search warrant. The House officials apparently did noting until after the search lasting many hours was well over.
I find it hard to believe any career justice department lawyer would ask for the warrant to search the house offices with out approval from someone a lot higher up in the administration. I find it interesting that the Presidnet gave Hastert no comfort.
I wonder if this would have been allowed to come to this point if Delay were still in control.
Hastert is a figure head... The figure is a plaster of paris zero.
Nice catch DB!!
I called my Representative this afternoon- spoke with one of the women in the office...she is equally baffled by the reaction of Hastert and the Gang.
I'm beginning to think these guys don't want to win.
This is getting ridiculous. The R's in congress should have kept their mouths shut. Now the MSM leads with their quotes and then "forgets" to name Jefferson's party.
Good going, fellas.