FBI, Gonzales Summoned In Raid Case

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

WASHINGTON – The House Judiciary Committee chairman, James Sensenbrenner, said yesterday he will summon Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the FBI’s director, Robert Mueller, before his panel to explain their decision to raid a lawmaker’s office for the first time in history.

“I want to have Attorney General Gonzales and FBI Director Mueller up here to tell us how they reached the conclusion they did,” said Sensenbrenner, one of President Bush’s most loyal House allies. Sensenbrenner’s hearings, which began yesterday, are examining whether the May 20 raid violated the Constitution.

Calling the decision to authorize the raid “profoundly disturbing,” Mr. Sensenbrenner signaled that he would not be among the lawmakers backing off their criticism of the administration. Any progress in talks between House and Justice Department lawyers in crafting guidelines for future criminal investigations of Congress would not deter Mr. Sensenbrenner from calling the administration to account for the search of Rep.William Jefferson’s offices.

“They didn’t get it right this time,” Mr. Sensenbrenner said.

The Justice Department filed court papers yesterday opposing the congressman’s demand that property seized in the office raid be returned. Such a step would be “fundamentally inconsistent with the bedrock principle that ‘the laws of this country allow no place or employment as a sanctuary for crime,'” the papers said, quoting language from a near century-old Supreme Court case.

Mr. Jefferson’s interpretation would remove courts from their traditional role of ruling on privilege claims and would subvert the principle that members of Congress are not immune from ordinary criminal procedures, the department said in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.

While not defending Mr. Jefferson,Mr. Sensenbrenner made clear his opposition to the raid on constitutional grounds, titling yesterday’s hearing “Reckless Justice: Did the Saturday Night Raid of Congress Trample the Constitution?”


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use