The Height of Arrogance

Louisiana congressman William Jefferson is in trouble with the law (I do not distinguish his party affiliation because it is completely irrelevant). It appears that because of testimony from others, Mr. Jefferson became the target of a Justice Department investigation during which Mr. Jefferson was recorded taking bribes. In light of this evidence, a warrant was issued and Mr. Jefferson’s congressional office was searched and some items seized. It must also be remembered that part of what was recorded was Mr. Jefferson receiving a large amount of cash, some of which was found hidden in his freezer at home.

Prominent members of the Congress have expressed their collective concern over the FBI’s search of Mr. Jefferson’s congressional office. It seems there is some well-intentioned but misguided tradition by which the executive branch of the government cannot do such a thing to the legislative branch. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (again, party affiliation completely irrelevant) declared the search of Mr. Jefferson’s office to be “unconstitutional”; constitutional experts seem to disagree.

While the “hands-off” tradition between branches of the government is probably a good idea to some degree, this particular search involved all three branches: a judge (judicial) issued a search warrant to the FBI (executive) to search a congressman’s (legislative) office. Politics being what it is, there is a reason why laws exist to protect legislators from being harassed, manipulated, intimidated, or detained by the executive branch on not only the federal level but state levels as well.

Legislators are “we the people”. They are “us”. Instead of everyone going to the state capital to represent our concerns, we choose someone to attend in our stead. It is all part of the checks and balances system which exists within our system of government. One branch of the government cannot hold sway over another branch without due process. This is one of many very good reasons why judges should not be subject to the will of the people by popular vote.

Aside from political consideration between branches of the US government, however, there is also a reason why members of Congress should be concerned about what is happening. The current US president has an extremely low approval rating at this time. The approval rating of the US Congress is even lower. An argument can be made that the low congressional rating is a result of Republicans being in the majority, but this sort of argument would only go as far as partisan voters’ minds. In the end, there seems to be a general mistrust and suspicion of the Congress by the American people, and partisan politics cannot be blamed as the sole culprit.

The public’s mistrust of the Congress can be traced back to the term limits proposals that were enacted in some states as well as other proposals which were attempted at the federal level. That effort failed but not without great cost to former House Speaker Tom Foley. He was a leading opponent of citizen’s efforts to impose term limits on the federal level. Even though the measure was declared unconstitutional (it is) by the judicial branch, the voters reacted to what was perceived at the time as the very height of arrogance. The will of the people clashed with the will of a seemingly arrogant politician who seemed to suggest that the Congress does not have to answer to the voting public. The voters of Washington state, who denied Mr. Foley another term in office, reminded him that the Congress does in fact answer to the voters.

There may be legitimate legal concerns about Mr. Jefferson’s office having been searched and, we presume, documents relevant to the investigation seized, but these legal concerns must be traced to the branch of government responsible for creating laws, the Congress (legislative). The executive branch (FBI) is responsible for enforcing these same laws, and the judicial branch (the judge who issued the search warrant) is responsible for interpreting these laws.

The only “legitimate” concern that members of Congress should have at this point is that they are being reminded that they are not above the laws they created and that they are, indeed, “of the people”. The very essence of arrogance is to suggest that the search of an office of a member of Congress who is under investigation is not allowed under some misguided rules that are not specifically addressed in the US Constitution.

At this point, Mr. Jefferson may not be the only member of Congress who is in trouble with the law.