The American Spectator

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On House "Raid," Just Shut Up

By Quin Hillyer on 5.24.06 @ 10:34AM

Today in The Hill, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader John Boehner continue their public moaning about the supposed unconstitutionality of the FBI search last weekend of the office of troubled Rep. William Jefferson, D-LA. As Archie Bunker would say, they should stifle themselves. Their complaints are going over VERY badly politically with an American public increasingly outraged about horrible congressional ethics and Congress' mentality of being entitled to favors and special deference. Even if they truly believe there is a constitutional problem with the search, they should pursue their complaints less publicly; their moaning makes them look as if they care more about their own prerogatives than they do about what appears to be horrible bribery in their midst. Meanwhile, they probably need a refresher on the COnstitution itself: A carefully crafted search warrant will not, on its face, violate the "speech and debate" clause in the COnstitution that protects Congressmen from prosecution for political speech or action. That clause gives individual members freedom to vote their conscience and speak their minds -- not to use public office buildings to hide evidence of rank corruption.

topics:
John Boehner, Constitution