Via Glenn Reynolds:

An unusual FBI raid of a Democratic congressman’s office over the weekend prompted complaints yesterday from leaders in both parties, who said the tactic was unduly aggressive and may have breached the constitutional separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government.

[...]

About 15 FBI agents, wearing suits, entered Jefferson’s office in the Rayburn House Office Building about 7:15 p.m. Saturday and left about 1 p.m. Sunday. Authorities said it was the first time the FBI had raided the office of a sitting congressman.

[...]

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), in an e-mail to colleagues with the subject line “on the edge of a constitutional confrontation,” called the Saturday night raid “the most blatant violation of the Constitutional Separation of Powers in my lifetime.” He urged President Bush to discipline or fire “whoever exhibited this extraordinary violation.”

Many legal experts and defense lawyers agreed with Gingrich. Charles Tiefer, a University of Baltimore law professor who served as solicitor and deputy general counsel of the House for 11 years, called the raid “an intimidating tactic that has never before been used against the legislative branch.”

I understand the constitutional concerns, though I don’t find them convincing.

What’s amusing are the concerns about “imtimidation,” and the raid being “unduly aggressive.” Are you kidding me? Do something about this, you cowards, then we’ll talk about whether or not men in suits conducting a rather civil search of an office constitutes unnecessary aggression.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006 at 9:54 am by Radley Balko and is filed under Police Militarization. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.