August 03, 2007
Court Rules FBI Trampled Constitution In Jefferson Raid
A federal appeals court found today that part of the FBI's raid on Rep. William Jefferson's congressional office was unconstitutional.
The court ordered the Justice Department to return some (but not all) of the documents FBI agents took when they raided Jefferson's Rayburn office in May 2006 as part of a two-year investigation.
Today's ruling only applies to the search conducted at his office -- not his Capitol Hill home, where agents discovered $90,000 wrapped in aluminum foil in his freezer during an August 2005 search. An FBI informant had allegedly given him the cash a few days earlier.
The FBI's entry and search of the office has brought up an issue of constitutional contention, with some lawmakers alleging that the Justice Department crossed the line in issuing and executing a warrant at a congressional office -- apparently the first time this had ever happened. The case also has indirect repercussions for other lawmakers currently under investigation, including GOP Sen. Ted Stevens, who is the subject of an corruption probe and whose Alaska home was searched on Monday.
Jefferson pleaded not guilty to 16 charges of bribery, fraud, racketeering and other offenses in early June.
New federal records unsealed last week offered evidence that Jefferson accepted bribes to help a U.S. telecom firm strike a deal in Nigeria and Ghana.
Posted at 11:13 AM
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Congress, House, William Jefferson
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