Lawmakers, at Hearing, Assail F.B.I.'s Capitol Raid

did anyone else watch this today?? it was on c-span, I watched a good part of it... it's getting pretty good...


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/30/wa...rtner=homepage
An F.B.I. raid on a congressman's office 10 days ago was heavily criticized today during hearings before the House Judiciary Committee, with members and witnesses saying it violated the separation of powers provided by the Constitution between the legislative and executive branches of government.

"This is a constitutional issue and a matter of grave concern," said James Sensenbrenner, Republican of Wisconsin, who called the unusual session at a time when most of Congress is in recess.

The 18-hour raid on the offices of Representative William Jefferson, Democrat of Louisiana, took place without either a lawyer for the House of Representatives or Mr. Jefferson permitted to be in attendance. Constitutionally protected legislative material was almost certainly seized in the sweep, according to witnesses, who included law professors, a former member of the House and a former Justice Department official.

The procedures used in the raid were "sloppy at best and reckless at worst," said John Conyers of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the committee.

Mr. Conyers cited other instances where, he said, the Bush administration had appeared to unilaterally grab power, including the White House's position authorizing more aggressive interrogation of prisoners, and the program of domestic wiretapping without a warrant and data mining.

Representative Sensenbrenner said that he was planning further hearings on the issue, and that he would call Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and F.B.I. officials to testify. He also said the committee was considering drafting legislation that would specifically protect materials used in making laws

Robert S. Walker, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania, urged the committee to use its power of subpoena to demand information on how the search was authorized. The panel should "demand a full accounting for the decision-making process that led to the Rayburn raid," he said. "The Judiciary Committee should be prepared to subpoena documents tied to this incident."

He said the search appeared to reduce Congress's standing as a co-equal branch of government and predicted sharp reaction if the roles were reversed. "One can only imagine what the concern would be if the Capitol Police were sent on a raid of an executive agency in pursuit of Congress's oversight function," he said.

The raid, part of a bribery investigation, amounted to "intimidation of Congress," said Charles Tiefer, a professor at the University of Baltimore Law School.

Although the May 20 raid was part of a criminal investigation, unannounced searches will eventually be used for political purposes unless curbs are put in place, said Bruce Fein, a former Justice Department official and an author on legal issues.

He said political raids "will be used to cripple Congressional oversight" of executive branch agencies.

As a result of the uproar set off by the search, President Bush has ordered all the materials taken from the office sealed for 45 days while Justice Department officials and House leaders negotiate new procedures for conducting investigations involving members of Congress.