Tuesday, May 23, 2006
This Federal Raid stuff is just weird
OK...so this Louisiana Congressman(William Jefferson) apparantly is being accused of accepting close to a hundred grand in cash from an undercover FBI informant with the understanding that he would in exchange helping to broker two African telecommunications deals. Vernon Jackson, chief executive of iGate Inc., a Louisville, Ky., telecommunications firm, subsequently pleaded guilty to bribery, admitting he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Jefferson and his family members in exchange for the congressman's help obtaining business deals in Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon.
The House Ethics Committee has already opened an inquiry into the case, but Jefferson has yet to be charged with anything.
The big deal is the fact that Jefferson is a public servant for his constituincy in Louisiana, and hence...under the bylaws of the United States Constitution...cannot have his office on capitol hill searched without it being deemed an abuse of the seperation of powers regarding the federal government. THAT IS...UNLESS THE PROPER STEPS ARE TAKEN. This is where it gets sticky, from what I understand....
1. The search procedures apparantly included the use of a "filter team" of prosecutors and FBI agents unconnected to the investigation. They would review any seized items or documents and determine whether the documents are privileged and therefore immune from what the search warrant intended.
2. Why did the Justice Department raid the offices of a Democrat but not Republican lawmakers that have also been under investigation? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060521/ap_on_go_co/congress_scandal_2
Now I am not a democrat....(nor am I really a republican, either...but I do believe in more of the conservative ideals than liberal ones)....but is HOW this investigation was carried out just another case of a slap in the face to the political rules that require members of the people's representation to conduct themselves "at all times in a manner that reflects creditably"?
IT IS OUT OF CONTROL...AND I DON'T KNOW IF I EVEN CARE TO BOTHER AND VOTE ANYMORE!
What say YOU?
The House Ethics Committee has already opened an inquiry into the case, but Jefferson has yet to be charged with anything.
The big deal is the fact that Jefferson is a public servant for his constituincy in Louisiana, and hence...under the bylaws of the United States Constitution...cannot have his office on capitol hill searched without it being deemed an abuse of the seperation of powers regarding the federal government. THAT IS...UNLESS THE PROPER STEPS ARE TAKEN. This is where it gets sticky, from what I understand....
1. The search procedures apparantly included the use of a "filter team" of prosecutors and FBI agents unconnected to the investigation. They would review any seized items or documents and determine whether the documents are privileged and therefore immune from what the search warrant intended.
2. Why did the Justice Department raid the offices of a Democrat but not Republican lawmakers that have also been under investigation? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060521/ap_on_go_co/congress_scandal_2
Now I am not a democrat....(nor am I really a republican, either...but I do believe in more of the conservative ideals than liberal ones)....but is HOW this investigation was carried out just another case of a slap in the face to the political rules that require members of the people's representation to conduct themselves "at all times in a manner that reflects creditably"?
IT IS OUT OF CONTROL...AND I DON'T KNOW IF I EVEN CARE TO BOTHER AND VOTE ANYMORE!
What say YOU?
