Jefferson was trying to hide evidence

Washington Post:

The Justice Department yesterday vigorously defended the recent weekend raid of Rep. William J. Jefferson's Capitol Hill office as part of a bribery investigation, asserting that the Democratic lawmaker attempted to hide documents from FBI agents while they were searching his New Orleans home last August.

The government questioned in a 34-page motion filed in U.S. District Court here whether it could have obtained all the materials it had sought in a subpoena if it had not launched the surprise raid on Jefferson's congressional office May 20. According to the government filing, an FBI agent caught Jefferson slipping documents into a blue bag in the living room of his New Orleans home during a search.

"It is my belief that when Congressman Jefferson placed documents into the blue bag, he was attempting to conceal documents that were relevant to the investigation," FBI agent Stacey E. Kent of New Orleans stated in an affidavit that was part of the government's court submission. The document was filed in response to Jefferson's lawsuit demanding that the government return to him documents seized during the raid on his Capitol Hill office 11 days ago.

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In yesterday's court filing, the government argued that law enforcement authorities should not be barred from conducting searches of congressional offices simply because they contain legislative materials -- such as committee reports, internal memos and drafts of bills -- that are protected under the "Speech or Debate" clause. "If his argument is accepted by this court, members of Congress and their staffs would be able to create search-free zones wherever they go by bringing along some legislative materials," the government said of Jefferson, 59, who has been under investigation since March 2005 over allegations that he took hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using his congressional influence to promote business ventures in Africa. A key part of the FBI probe has centered on Jefferson's dealings with iGate Inc., a Louisville high-tech company that was marketing broadband technology for the Internet and cable television in Africa.

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The constitution debate clause does not bar search of legislative materials. It bars the arrest of people for the purpose of preventing them from debating or voting on issues. It says nothing about barring searches. There could be good reason to look at legislative material if the legislation was part of a quid pro quo in a bribery or extortion operation. There are only a few legal "scholars" in the world who agree with the House position and probably all of them were called by Sensebrenner yesterday. They are as wrong as the House leadership is on this issue. This is bad law and bad politics to say that House members can coverup their crimes by keeping evidence in their office.