July 10, 2006, House (tea?) party
Well, after the recent Hamdan case appeared to strengthen the doctrine of separation of powers, blasting the Bush Administration for deigning fit to legislate in the area of establishing military tribunals that did not conform to regular military procedure (i.e. courts martial) as the Court found was required by United States ratification of the third Geneva Convention of 1949... we have a lower court, federal district judge Thomas Hogan in Washington, D.C. who upheld the execution of a search warrant upon the offices of accused Congressional criminal William Jefferson, finding, in a rebuff to a bipartisan group of Congressmen including the Republican Speaker, that the Constitutional protection of Congressional debate was not a license to turn Congressional offices into dens of crime, not to mention affording Congress members more rights and privileges than enjoyed by the general citizenry in the area of license to commit crimes, anyway. Jefferson was subject of an FBI sting operation, and $90,000 in cash bribe money was found in his freezer at home (Jesus, Congressman, what part of the words "girlfriend's backyard" don't you understand?)
These congressmen have two options, I suppose. One is that they could probably provide for immunity for themselves by statute. Congress exempts itself from the application of all sorts of laws this way, so why not... all laws, while they're at it. The other is that they could take violent revenge against the President whose Justice Department went after one of their own (conveniently a Democrat, of course, but just think of the words "President Hillary Clinton" to realize the overarching principle at stake here), that is violent revenge as permitted by the Constitution, to wit, Articles of Impeachment. Yes, yes, I know... not bloody likely... but it gives me an excuse to share with you this amusing product, Peach Mint Tea (thanks to Andrew of some college in Haverford, PA for the heads up), and part of the profits (if any) will go to some PAC devoted to impeachment.
Not that I'm endorsing impeachment, of course. Not that I'm not endorsing it either. And not that I'm not not endorsing it. But, you know, perhaps the principle of the same President who persistently thumbs his nose at Congress with signing statements promising not to follow and execute the laws Congress passed and he didn't veto, and, in a breach of inter-branch comity (if, of no law, as held by Judge Hogan), sics the FBI on a member of the Congressional insiders (even if an African American Democrat... but the principle still applies...), maybe the members of the House will see the virtues in considering impeachment... or at least, in trying that refreshing tea.
It's probably good to the last drop. Or something.
Comments
To be valid, a search requires “a prior showing of probable cause, the warrant authorizing [the search] must particularly describe the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized, and . . . it may not have the breadth, generality, and long life of the general warrant against which the Fourth Amendment was aimed.” Here, neither Congressman Jefferson nor amicus contend that the search warrant issued here failed to meet any of those requirements.
The guy works with a roomful of lawyers, but manages to get a lousy lawyer to represent him. I already know that nobody on Capitol Hill reads the legislation, obviously nobody with half a brain actually read the amicus either.
Posted by Neo at July 11, 2006 11:37 AM