DOJ appeal reopens battle over Jefferson raid

[babylonsister]

DOJ appeal reopens battle over Jefferson raid
By Susan Crabtree
September 21, 2007

The Justice Department is seeking to overturn a D.C. Circuit appeals court ruling that the FBI raid on Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) office last year violated the Constitution.

The decision is reopening a separation-of-powers battle over how much protection federal lawmakers should have from government prosecutors’ investigations.

Federal lawyers are challenging a three-judge panel’s August decision that the 2006 FBI raid on Jefferson’s D.C. congressional office violated the Speech and Debate clause of the Constitution, which protects the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government. Specifically, the judges found that an FBI review of Jefferson’s paper files when the search was executed exposed legislative material to the executive branch, and therefore violated the clause.

more...

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/doj-appeal-reopens-battle-over-jefferson-raid-2007-09-21.html