Court Sides With Congressman on FBI Raid

FBI agents load the back of a minivan outside the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington after continuing their of the offices of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., in the May 21, 2006 file photo. The FBI violated the Constitution when agents raided Jefferson's office last year and viewed legislative documents, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, Aug. 3, 2007. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, File) (Lauren Victoria Burke - AP)

The Justice Department said Friday it was pleased prosecutors were allowed to keep records unrelated to legislative business. Spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the department was disappointed, however, because the ruling required authorities to notify lawmakers before any raid.

The court did not say lawmakers would have to have advance notice of the FBI's arrival. Rather, the court said the Justice Department can't broadly review legislative records. One solution mentioned in the opinion was for FBI agents to lock down the office, then allow the lawmaker to set aside disputed documents. It would be up to a judge _ not the FBI _ to decide whether the records could be seized.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she wanted to work with the Justice Department to set up a policy for handling future searches.

"The court's decision restates the central role in the separation of powers and the separation of checks and balances in our system," Pelosi said. She added, "The White House wouldn't like it if we sent the Capitol Police over there to search Karl Rove's desk."

Officials said they took extraordinary steps, including using an FBI "filter team" not involved in the criminal case to review the congressional documents. Government attorneys said the Constitution was not intended to shield lawmakers from prosecution for political corruption.

The court was not convinced. It said the Constitution insists that lawmakers must be free from any intrusion into their congressional duties. Such intrusion, even by a filter team, "may therefore chill the exchange of views with respect to legislative activity," the court held.

The case cuts across political party lines. Former House Speakers Newt Gingrich, a Republican, and Thomas Foley, a Democrat, filed legal documents opposing the raid, along with former House Minority Leader Bob Michel, a Republican.

Conservative groups Judicial Watch and the Washington Legal Foundation were joined by the liberal Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in supporting the legality of the raid.

Following his indictment, Jefferson's supporters accused the Bush administration of targeting black Democrats to shift attention from the legal troubles of Republican congressmen.

"We are confident that as this case moves forward, and when all of the facts are known, we will prevail again and clear Congressman Jefferson's name," Trout said Friday.

Besides the documents seized from Jefferson's office, the Justice Department has a number of items taken from his Washington home.

According to recently unsealed court documents, those include financial records, letters and computer files. The money in the freezer was hidden in a bag from an organic market and in boxes of pie crusts and vegetarian hamburgers, according to the documents.

Despite the investigation, Jefferson was re-elected to a ninth term in 2006. His win complicated things for Democratic leaders who promised to run the most ethical Congress in history.

Friday's case was considered by Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg, Judge Karen Lecraft Henderson and Judge Judith W. Rogers. Ginsburg and Henderson were appointed by Republican presidents, Rogers by a Democrat.