Posted on 05/27/2006 4:03:32 PM PDT by Dubya
WASHINGTON - The constitutional showdown that followed the FBI's search of a congressman's office came down to this: The House threatened budgetary retaliation against the Justice Department. Justice officials raised the prospect of resigning.
That scenario, as described Saturday by a senior administration official, set the stage for President Bush's intervention into the fight over the FBI's search of the office of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., an eight-term lawmaker being investigated on bribery allegations.
During contentious conversations between the Department of Justice and the House, top law enforcement officials indicated that they'd rather quit than return documents FBI agents, armed with a warrant, seized in an overnight search of Jefferson's office, the administration official said.
Until last Saturday night, no such warrant had ever been used to search a lawmaker's office in the 219-year history of the Congress. FBI agents carted away records in their pursuit of evidence that Jefferson accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for helping set up business deals in Africa.
After the raid, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill, lodged a protest directly with Bush, demanding that the FBI return the materials. Bush struck a compromise Thursday, ordering that the documents be sealed for 45 days until congressional leaders and the Justice Department agree on what to do with them.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and his deputy, Paul McNulty, were said to be ready to quit if the Justice Department was asked to return the Jefferson documents, the senior administration official said on condition of anonymity. The resignation of FBI Director Robert Mueller also was implied, the official said.
"But none of these guys ever said to the White House that they were going to take that action," the official said, playing down any implication that the threatened resignations were the reason the president decided to seal the documents.
"You didn't have them (the law enforcement officials) marching up and threatening insubordination," said the official, who is familiar with discussions between the House and Justice Department. "It was more like `Well, if that happens, than this will happen.'"
The House was threatening to go after the Justice Department's budget, and with both sides taking entrenched positions, the president stepped in as a mediator, the official said.
"In one of the conversations, both sides sort of backed off, even," the official said, adding that with a cooling-off period both sides have an interest in resolving the dispute.
House leaders acknowledged Friday that FBI agents with a court-issued warrant can legally search a congressman's office, but they said they want procedures established.
Gonzales was similarly optimistic. "We've been working hard already and we'll continue to do so pursuant to the president's order," he told The Associated Press on Friday.
In an editorial page article in USA Today on Friday, Hastert said he and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have directed House lawyers "to develop reasonable protocols and procedures that will make it possible for the FBI to go into congressional offices to constitutionally execute a search warrant."
The new talks are aimed at establishing guidelines for any future searches that might stem from federal investigations, including a widening Capitol Hill influence-peddling probe centered on convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
I've never seen a better argument for Congressional term limits.
House leaders acknowledged Friday that FBI agents with a court-issued warrant can legally search a congressman's office, but they said they want procedures established.
We can impose term limits in just a little over five months. Right now I'm for sending them all home permanently. If any can change my mind I'll give them some consideration.
The House threatened budgetary retaliation against the Justice Department.
The crime of the century and no one cares.
Looks like congress critters could have the same procedures that Joe six pack would get, if it were warranted..
procedures? Is that like, giving them notice before the fact?
I've been asking for several days about a thread here from the 23rd that the House General Council had copies of the subpoenaed (sp?) info for several weeks and refused to turn them over to the FBI. It seems to me that if they'd turned it over, this whole dust up could have been avoided.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1636999/posts
How else will Congressmen have time to remove evidence if they aren't afforded certain, ahem, "procedures"?
Dittos!
Everybody wants term limits....for somebody else's Congressman.
No wonder we have so damn many crooks in Congress. They make the laws for the rest of us not to include themselves.
I agree, Hastert and Pelosi should be cited for obstruction of justice -- threatening to stop an investigation by pulling funds from the justice department. The hissy fits thrown by these individuals (and I will include Frist, Gingrich, and Lott in that crowd) demonstrates that have NO leadership skills. How dare they put themselves above the law and telegraph to the american people that they are "special"! Jefferson ignored the subpoena for months; if a rule is to be established it should be that a congressman who ignores a valid subpoena should be expelled from the congress.
ALLEGATIONS!!! He was caught red-handed. That's why this "unprecedented" warrant was granted BY THE COURT!!
But the spineless elephants of Congress will bend over once again and take it like a "man" as they have been doing for over 5 years. Why is it that when "conservatives" reach the federal level of gov't, they go limp, wrist and all?
And here are Hasserts new rules:
1) 24 hours advance notice so members can delete all hard drives of child porn!
2) FBI can only search in areas members say they can!
3) Cops must allow erratic and wrong way driving at 3 am if a member is drunk and late for a vote!
4) The woman in the car is always the Congressman's wife....even if there are 3 of them
5) Bigamy is legal to members of Congress!
6) Hookers count as interns!
7) Any white powdery lines on desks or mirrors are always considered to be anthrax!
8) Spare cash in freezers found in a Congressman office is to be left alone! He is guarding it while the lock in the Social Security lock box is being fixed!
9) Anyone with bad hair does not have to prove they are a member of Congress, and can punch cops!
10) Late night three-some sessions of Congress are not to be interpreted (see rules 4 and 6)
Yea....you know....enough advance notice so they can clean the place out and find a new freezer to stash the cash.
Who, exactly, made those threats, I wonder? Hastert?
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