Federal Appeals Court Rules FBI Overstepped Boundaries In Rep. Jefferson Search

I suspect that this case will be appealed.

The FBI violated the Constitution when agents raided U.S. Rep. William Jefferson's office last year and viewed legislative documents, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
The court ordered the Justice Department to return any privileged documents it seized from the Louisiana Democrat's office on Capitol Hill. The court did not order the return of all the documents seized in the raid.

Jefferson argued that the raid trampled on congressional independence. The Justice Department said that declaring the search unconstitutional would essentially prohibit the FBI from ever looking at a lawmaker's documents.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, nonetheless, sided with Jefferson on the constitutional issue.

"The review of the Congressman's paper files when the search was executed exposed legislative material to the Executive," and violated the Constitution, the court wrote. "The Congressman is entitled to the return of documents that the court determines to be privileged."

Congress does not have immunity to investigation for criminal acts conducted in the offices of members. However, the Court does not require all documents be returned. It says that the Court will oversee which documents must be returned pursuant to the Speech or Debate Clause.

The court says that "compelled disclosure of privileged material to the Executive during execution of the search warrant for Rayburn House Office Building Room 2113 violated the Speech or Debate Clause and that the Congressman is entitled
to the return of documents that the court determines to be privileged under the Clause."

The text of the decision is here. That means that documents seized in Jefferson's office may be returned if they are not germaine to the investigation, though the question may arise as to what happens to those documents that are relevant to the investigation but are nonetheless done on official Congressional stationary - where Jefferson could claim privilege. This is the problem with trying to investigate Congressional corruption if this decision is affirmed on appeal or is allowed to stand.

Not at issue is what the heck Rep. Jefferson was doing with $90,000 in cold cash stashed in his freezer.