Hastert Blasts FBI Raid On Rep. Jefferson's Office

[Rose Siding]

Hastert Blasts FBI Raid On Rep. Jefferson's Office
First it was Newt Gingrich, who on Sunday e-mailed friends his outrage that the FBI raided the congressional offices of Rep. William Jefferson.

Today, mostly Dems issued statements saying (a) while Jefferson should be held accountable for his actions, (b) the FBI dangerously eroded the separation between the executive and legislative branches.

Now, Speaker Dennis Hastert (R) weighs in:

"It is the duty of the Justice Department to root out and prosecute corruption wherever it is found, including in the U.S. House of Representatives. I believe that all Members of the House should cooperate fully with any criminal investigation.

"That being said, I am very concerned about the necessity of a Saturday night raid on Congressman Jefferson's Capitol Hill Office in pursuit of information that was already under subpoena and at a time when those subpoenas are still pending and all the documents that have been subpoenaed were being preserved.

The Founding Fathers were very careful to establish in the Constitution a Separation of Powers to protect Americans against the tyranny of any one branch of government. They were particularly concerned about limiting the power of the Executive Branch. Every Congressional Office contains certain Legislative Branch documents that are protected by the Constitution. This protection-as the Supreme Court has repeatedly held-is essential to guarantee the independence of the Legislative Branch. No matter how routine and non-controversial any individual Legislative Branch document might be, the principles of Separation of Powers, the independence of the Legislative Branch, and the protections afforded by the Speech or Debate clause of the Constitution must be respected in order to prevent overreaching and abuse of power by the Executive Branch.

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/05/a_raid_too_far.html