Tuesday - July 11, 2006

Congressional Sanctuary Denied

Common sense tells me this ruling was a no-brainer but you never can tell in DC, especially when the courts are involved and the case involves a crooked Democrat (what other kind is there?), bribes and most importantly, Congress’ high opinion of itself. That last is a joke considering the many jerks who have been elected, convicted of crimes or found swimming in the Tidal Basin drunk with a stripper (remember Wilbur Mills?).

This judge did the only thing a reasonable man could do ... slap Congress on the wrist and tell them flat out that their precious “speech and debate” argument is utter bullshit in cases like this. Jefferson still denies wrongdoing even though he was caught redhanded with the cold, hard cash from a bribe (literally). Donks never admit wrongdoing. That is a party commandment cast in concrete by Teddy Kennedy in 1969.

They are however, quick to point the finger at Republicans who get caught. The Donks had planned to ride the whole Abramoff bribe scandal all the way to November and pick up seats by accusing the GOP of being the “party of corruption”. Horse feathers! Jefferson is going down. He struggled to hold on to his prestigious seat as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, even though he is under investigation and with hard evidence against him in plain view. The Donks had to pressure him to step down to save face.

Now Nancy Pelosi is backtracking, issuing a statement that “no one is above the law and that congressional members should not be allowed to use their offices to conceal criminal activity”. But she added that “this particular search could have been conducted in a manner that fully protected the ability of the prosecutors to obtain the evidence needed to do their job while preserving constitutional principles.”

Nice try, Nancy. It won’t wash. Jefferson is guilty as sin and trying to deny the FBI the ability to do their job based on some obscure interpretation of the Constitution is complete hogwash. As usual, the Donks are stretching the truth and their credibility at the same time. How do these people get re-elected anyway? Where do the Donks find people stupid enough to actually vote for wing-nuts like Jefferson, Cynthia McKinney and John Murtha?

FBI Search of Jefferson’s Office
Constitutional, Judge Rules
- _{(WASHINGTON POST)—Tuesday, July 11, 2006}

A federal judge in Washington ruled yesterday that the unprecedented FBI raid on Rep. William J. Jefferson’s Capitol Hill office was constitutional, saying the government “demonstrated a compelling need to conduct the search” in the ongoing public corruption probe.

U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan, in an anxiously awaited 28-page opinion, said politicians were not above the law, and he rejected arguments from the Louisiana Democrat that the search violated the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, which protects speech and documents related to legislative activity.

“Congressman Jefferson’s interpretation of the Speech or Debate privilege would have the effect of converting every congressional office into a taxpayer-subsidized sanctuary for crime,” Hogan wrote, rejecting the request to return the seized materials.

Since March 2005, the FBI has been investigating allegations that Jefferson took hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using his congressional influence to promote high-tech business ventures in Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon.

Robert P. Trout, Jefferson’s lawyer, vowed to appeal the ruling. He said he also planned to request a stay to keep the seized documents under seal pending appeal. If granted, the stay could further delay FBI investigators, who have been waiting to examine the potential evidence in the 15-month probe.

“The raid on Congressman Jefferson’s office was unprecedented, unnecessary and unconstitutional,” Trout said in a statement, adding that “we respectfully disagree” with the judge’s ruling. A Justice Department official hailed the ruling but said the department “will wait for the court’s decision on the stay before accessing the documents.”

Jefferson, 59, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has not been charged. About 15 FBI agents raided the office at the Rayburn House Office Building the night of May 20 and spent 18 hours sifting through documents and copying computer hard drives.

- More on the story at the WAPO ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 07/11/2006 at 08:48 AM   
Filed Under: • Crime • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Politics •  
• Comments (0) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner