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Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Jefferson Raid Subject of Hearing, Legislation

According to CQ, Sensenbrenner says Congress should be afforded the same legal protection against sweeping searches by the Justice Department as members of the news media, announcing that he is drafting legislation to bolster the constitutional rights he believes the FBI violated when it raided Jefferson's office earlier this month.

Additionally,

Four witnesses appearing before the House Judiciary Committee all agreed that the subsequent search of Jefferson's congressional office without prior notice or negotiations with congressional officials was a threat to the constitutional principle of separation of powers. The witnesses and the committee members cited Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution, which safeguards congressional "speech and debate" from investigation. Witnesses at the hearing included: law professors Charles Tiefer and Jonathan Turley, former Rep. Robert Walker (R-Pa.), and conservative legal scholar Bruce Fein. All of the witnesses said the DOJ raid on Jefferson's office violated the separation-of-powers doctrine.

Tiefer, a former legal adviser to Congress, emphasized that previous DOJ investigations were conducted effectively after prosecutors negotiated to get needed materials without resorting to a search warrant.

Walker, who is now a lobbyist with the firm Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates, told the committee that the Jefferson probe should be viewed in the context of continuing investigations of other lawmakers. He said DOJ "appears to be looking at campaign contributions" being used as possible bribes to obtain official favors--a type of investigation that Walker said was unprecedented and would be a source of continuing concern on Capitol Hill.