I eat babies

Denny Hastert, whom I lovingly call Jaba the House Speaker, and Nancy Pelosi freaked out when the FBI raided the House office of probably corrupt Representative William Jefferson. They complained that the Executive branch had violated the separation of powers by enforcing a warranted search in a criminal investigation. This is the first time in 200 years that such a search has been conducted and there are certain legal principles based on tradition. Executive Privilege comes to mind. That notwithstanding, protesting a court authorized search over an ill-defined principle is pretty weak. Congressional offices should not be law-free zones. Any notion that these office should be beyond the reach of law enforcement seems like total bunk to me but I will leave that to the constitutional scholars.

The more interesting motivation for the Hastert’s response may be that Denny is under investigation for bribery related to the Abramoff scandal. ABC news is reporting that the Justice Department has been looking at fundraiser for Hastert sponsored by the convicted lobbyist. He would naturally be disinclined to FBI searches of his office.

It is getting hard to believe that any of the Republicans (and an increasing number of Dems) are not corrupt or self-serving.