Supreme Court upholds ruling that FBI raid of congressman's office was illegal

Jet, May 5, 2008 by Kevin Chappell

The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand a lower court decision that the FBI raid of Rep. William Jefferson's congressional office in 2006 in search of evidence to support corruption charges was illegal.

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As a result, any evidence found in the raid--which sparked a furor among congressional leaders, including Republicans, who argued the search violated the Constitution's separation of powers and legislative privilege--will not be admissible in court.

"From the very moment that we learned of the FBI's raid on a Congressional office-the first in our nation's history-we were convinced that the Department of Justice was out of bounds," Jefferson's lawyer, Robert Trout, said in a statement. "Now, almost two years later, we are gratified that our initial judgment about this unprecedented raid has finally been confirmed by the Supreme Court."

It is unclear how the ruling would affect the $90,000 FBI agents reportedly found in a freezer when Jefferson's Washington home was searched in August 2005.

Federal prosecutors reportedly videotaped Jefferson taking the money from an undercover FBI official in a Washington-area hotel. Federal officials have charged that the Louisiana congressman used his position to take bribes in exchange for connecting those looking to do business in Africa with high-ranking African officials.

All along, Jefferson has maintained his innocence (JET, April 14), and has set up a legal defense fund (www.justiceforcongressmanjefferson.com) to raise money to fight the 16-count indictment. The trial is scheduled to begin in June.