There's No Cloak of Invisibility Over Congress

The saga of representative William Jefferson (R- Louisiana) is showing us how many Congressmen are (incorrectly) assuming that their offices are sacrosanct and above the law. Separation of powers? In fact, the Constitution notes that a member of a Congress is priviledged from arrest except in cases of treason, felony and breach of the peace while Congress is in session. But :

1. Rep. Jefferson had been subpoenaed for certain documents in September, after he had been caught on videotape in July accepting $100,000 in marked bills from an FBI informant for "help in securing business deals in Africa." He failed to turn over those documents.
2. An 83-page affidavit, justifying the search and identifying the items sought was in place for the judge to review before granting the warrant.
3. A special "filter team" was put in place to review each document for sensitive issues of confidentiality, and if such were noted, those documents would NOT be handed over to law enforcement. This is certainly due care to avoid catching too much in a "sweep".

As stated on the radio the other day, "The people of America are more concerned with maintaining Law and Order than with nuances of the doctrine of "Separation of Powers". The fact that evidence is stored in a Congressional office, as opposed, say, to a home freezer, should not render it immune from seizure as evidence. When many people point out "there has been no precedent set for a warranted search of a Congressional office", it just means that we've been letting some likely criminals get away with too much in the last 219 years.

As for William Jefferson's assertion that he is not guilty, after $90,000 worth of the marked $100 bills were found wrapped in alumium foil in his home freezer - well, that man just gives lying a bad name.