The FBI raided the congressional office of Representative William Jefferson, (D-LA), on May 20 and May 21 seizing documents and computerized records from Jefferson’s office.  Earlier, the FBI seized $90,000 in cash from a freezer in his home as part of an ongoing investigation in which Jefferson was videotaped last July 30 taking a $100,000 bribe from an FBI informant.  Since then, two people have pleaded guilty to bribing Jefferson in exchange for promoting a telecommunications business venture in Nigeria.  Jefferson has not been formally charged.

Aside from the bribery allegations, Jefferson was also involved in questionable behavior last September 2.  He asked the National Guard to give him a tour of his flood ravaged district and take him to the convention center and the Superdome.  During this tour, Jefferson had the National Guard take him to his Louisiana home where Jefferson collected a laptop, a large box and three suitcases.  A helicopter with a rescue diver waited 45 minutes and soldiers waited an hour while Jefferson collected his belongings.  The incident occurred five days after Katrina struck while some area residents were waiting to be evacuated from their homes.

Other members of Congress have been involved, or potentially involved, in criminal behavior.  In September Representative Tom DeLay (R-TX), resigned his post as House Majority Leader when a grand jury indicted him on charges of trying to evade state election laws.  He has not been convicted, but is under investigation by the justice department regarding contributions he received from lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Representative Randy “Duke” Cunningham, (R-CA), was sent to prison for taking over $630,000 in bribes from defense contractor Brent Wilkes in exchange for placing items in legislation that would benefit Wilkes’ companies.

Representative Alan Mollohan, (D-WV), is alleged to have made 250 errors in reporting  assets in his financial disclosure statements since 1996.  Mollohan is alleged to have directed federal grants to non-profit groups while he was involved in real estate deals with officials from those groups.  Mollohan is a member of the House ethics committee.  According to Larry Margask’s April 15 Capitol Hill Blue article, “Mollohan: I didn’t do nuttin’ wrong,’” the committee hasn’t started new investigations because its Democratic and Republican members have blocked each other.

Representative Bob Ney, (R-OH), is under investigation for participating in a weeklong golf excursion to England and Scotland that was paid for by Capital Athletic Association, an entity controlled by Abramoff.

On March 29, Representative Cynthia McKinney was stopped by a Capitol Police officer for bypassing a security checkpoint while not wearing her lapel pin.  After three verbal attempts to attract McKinney’s attention, the officer tried to stop her and she hit him.  McKinney, outraged at the officer’s failure to recognize her, accused him of racism.  On April 6, McKinney apologized and pledged to back a House resolution praising the work of the Capitol Police.  To date, no charges have been filed against McKinney for the incident.

At about 2:45 AM on May 4, Representative Patrick Kennedy, (D-RI), crashed his car into a security barricade near the Capitol after nearly missing a Capitol Police cruiser.  When approached by an officer, Kennedy identified himself as a Congressman who was late for a vote, (the last vote had occurred three hours earlier).  Kennedy, who had staggered from his car, was not given a sobriety test.

Many in Congress strongly objected to the search of Jefferson’s office.  Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, (R-IL), and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, (D-CA), issued a joint statement complaining that the FBI did not notify Congress of the raid and that the raid violated the Constitution’s separation of powers.  They also cited the “speech or debate” clause, (Article I, Section 6).  In response, President Bush directed the FBI to turn the seized records over to the Solicitor General and that the records be sealed for 45 days.
 

In the May 28 DesMoines Register article, “Potomac Fever: Congress outraged over records seizure,” by Jane Norman, Senator Charles Grassley, (R-IA), said there were other ways to obtain the information through cooperation with investigating Congressional committees.  The House Judiciary Committee will begin investigating the constitutionality of the raid this week.
 

Investigation of Congress by an agency that is part of the executive branch doesn’t appear to be specifically prohibited by the Constitution. Also, the executive branch was not acting alone: The FBI had a warrant from a federal judge to conduct the raid.  One of the reasons for separation of powers is to provide checks and balances.  It seems like a conflict of interest for Congress to investigate itself.  The questionable behaviors of some of its members, makes one question how thorough such an investigation would be.

Citing Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution may not help Congress’ case.  It states, “They shall be 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.”  Under federal law, a felony is characterized as any offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year.  Bribery on the scale for which Jefferson is being investigated may qualify.  In that case, Article I, section 6 allows the arrest of a member of Congress under the circumstances described.  Even if Jefferson’s alleged crimes weren’t felonies, Article I, Section 6 still may not apply.  It doesn’t apply if “the Session” is defined as the times when Congress is meeting because Congress had adjourned for the weekend prior to the search.   Members also weren’t “going to” or “returning from” a session at that time, (although Patrick Kennedy had the presence of mind to try to use that with the Capitol police).  Additionally, the raid on Jefferson’s office is not directly related to any of his speech or debate on the House floor.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, (R-TN), Senator David Vitter, (R-LA), wrote, “Make no mistake, the American people will come to one conclusion – that congressional leaders are trying to protect their own from valid investigations.”   Considering the recent behavior of some members of Congress, that is exactly how it appears to most ordinary citizens.  If the Congress really is concerned about upholding the Constitution, they should keep in mind the portion of Article I, Section 8 [15] that grants Congress the power to “repel invasions” as they consider a compromise immigration bill.

Copyright Eva Ellsworth, 05/29/06, all rights reserved

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