No, not Gallaudet. The government. I’ve now become convinced that it’s not only the President that has a warped sense of law and order. The behavior by several Congressional leaders in response to the FBI raid on the office of Representative Jefferson (D-LA) has been appalling.

Rep. Jefferson, via a wiretap, was caught taking bribes for a telephone investment deal in Africa. This piece of juicy information was broadcast all across the networks. While, of course, he is innocent until proven guilty, he’s pretty damn guilty.

So the FBI raided his office. They had a warrant (this is a word you might want to learn, Mr. Bush) signed by a federal judge. Is there something wrong with this picture? To me, no. To House leaders Hastert and Pelosi, there is.

They cite the separation of powers as some sort of immunity against FBI raids. Ridiculous. Separation of powers wasn’t intended to allow congressmen to be above the law.

Searches of offices–congressional or ordinary–are perfectly justified when there is a warrant and a clear suspicion of guilt. This is part of the normal process of evidence-gathering to build a case against a congressman who has let his power go to his mind. This representative serves the 2nd Congressional District of Louisiana–the very district that includes New Orleans and surriounding areas which were completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Instead of taking bribes, Rep. Jefferson should have been telling his conspirators to shove the money and give it to the impoverished citizens of south Louisiana. It is absolutely disgusting how he has so dishonorably served his constituents in their hour of greatest need. He should have been one of the most prominent names in the media following Hurricane Katrina, leading the relief effort to help his own citizens. Instead, he was taking bribes. It makes me want to throw up. But I’ll end my ad hominem attack for now and get back to the issue here.

I can understand the underlying legal precedent for not having tools of the executive branch (the FBI, for one), interfering with legislative affairs. We wouldn’t want CIA agents floating around Senate chambers, intimidating our representatives as they passed an anti-terrorism bill. Perfectly understandable. But this isn’t interference with Congress. It’s a nonpartisan criminal investigation that happens to involve a Congressman, and thus, justified.

This latest “outrage” from the government is the latest symbol in what I fear is a growing belief that the law can be bent towards any person’s will (as long as that person is in some sort of elected office). I thought it was just the Bush Administration that was growing out of touch with the American public and the Constitution, with what their warrantless wiretapping and the NSA’s tracking of billions of telephone calls.

Congress has contracted the same holier-than-thou disease, and instead of acting as checks and balances against the Bush Administration’s rampant abuse of executive power, they have hopped onto the bandwagon, too (even if they’re disagreeing with Bush).

This is one rare case where I will applaud A.G. Gonzales and FBI Director Mueller for having the guts to threaten their resignations if seized materials were returned. I’d resign in protest, too, if Congress decided to ignore the Fourth Amendment, too.