Agreed. In a few days Frist will be hailed as a hard core conservative, in the mold of Lieberman.
Posted on 05/28/2006 9:01:54 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - In a break with his counterparts in the House, the Senate's leader said Sunday the FBI was within its right to search the office of a congressman accused of bribery.
"No House member, no senator, nobody in government should be above the law of the land, period," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said.
Frist, R-Tenn., was responding to the search conducted May 20-21 in the office of Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record), D-La. FBI agents carted away computer and other records in their pursuit of evidence that Jefferson accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for helping set up business deals in Africa.
It was the first time that a warrant had been used to search a lawmaker's office in the history of the Congress.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California responded with a rare joint statement, protesting that the FBI had not notified them and that the search violated the Constitution's separation of power protections.
Frist said he examined the provision closely and talked the issue over with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. He concluded that the FBI acted appropriately.
"I don't think it abused separation of powers," Frist said on "Fox News Sunday.
"I think there's allegations of criminal activity, and the American people need to have the law enforced."
Hastert complained directly to President Bush and demanded 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 — a move that Frist said he supported "to let things settle down."
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said there needs to be "hard look" at whether the FBI violated the Constitution. But he said the FBI has raided judge's chambers before, so there is precedent for crossing branches of government for searches.
He also said he wasn't sure the "speech and debate" protections in Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution were violated, as some of have argued.
That section states that members of Congress "shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place."
"I'm not sure that you can stretch it to apply to this situation," Durbin said. "In the next several weeks, we ought to take a hard look at it. I'm not going to rule it in or out at this moment."
For once he's right.
Wow. A glimmer of responsibility in our Senate?? Maybe NOW they will understand that they aren't above the law. Oh, wait, I forgot about whom we were talking.
OH MAN, there's some good stuff in there.
I thought the three Branches of Government were "co-equal".
Since 2 of the 3 signed off on this, what the Hell makes the Legislative Branch think they are off limits?
Go d blesshim. being a U.S. Senator should not mean getting a get-out-jail-card, or be above the law. unless this isa matter of national security, I don't see why the documents are being sealed. this is clearly a case of major bribery going on, a treasonous act against the constituents of his state
Noooo! According to the news media, everyone is saying it was illegal! </ sarcasm>
Will wonders never cease? Frist musta put his index finger up in the air to see which way the political wind was blowing and changed his position. The spineless POS.
Does not apply if you are a:
1. Kennedy
2. Black
Go to Macsmind and read his update.
Jefferson was taped having conversations with the wife of the vice-president of-you guessed it-Nigeria.
This may prove to be a very entertaining summer.
Thankfully AG Gonzales(sp?) appears to have the spine to push it.
I don't understand..what's Macsmind? Where do I go to find this update???????
Wow! A glimmer. Amazing clarity from the Senate.
Sounds like Durbin got the "back away from Jefferson" memo, fershur...otherwise there is NO way he'd give even that lukewarm "blessing".
Frist has managed to stick a wet finger in the air and determine that their is no sense in urinating into the wind ala Hastert and Boehner.
Almost as good as a stopped clock but not quite yet.
What a wimp, give him credit for standing up for this but at the same time saying he "isn't sure" if this violates the debate section when there was a 1972 court ruling that specifically stated that it does not VIOLATE the debate clause since the debate clause does not give congressmen immunity from the law.
Either he is a wimp or he is very stupid when it comes to the constitution, maybe both.
GOT IT! Thanks!
Agreed. In a few days Frist will be hailed as a hard core conservative, in the mold of Lieberman.
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