President’s Statement on Materials Recovered from Congressman William Jefferson’s Office
Over the last several days, the House of Representatives and the Department of Justice have attempted to resolve a dispute over the execution of a search warrant on the Capitol Hill office of Congressman William Jefferson, who is under criminal investigation.
The Department of Justice's search was part of an important investigation of alleged public corruption. At the same time, the bipartisan leadership of the House of Representatives believes this search violated the Constitutional principle of separation of powers and the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution. They note these principles must be adhered to, even in the pursuit of a legitimate criminal investigation.
I recognize these are deeply held views. Our government has not faced such a dilemma in more than two centuries. Yet after days of discussions, it is clear these differences will require more time to be worked out.
So today I am directing the Department of Justice to seal all the materials recovered from Congressman Jefferson's office for the next 45 days and not to allow access to anyone involved in the investigation. I am also ordering the sealed materials to remain under the custody of the Solicitor General – who heads a separate office within the Justice Department and is not involved in the investigation.
This period will provide both parties more time to resolve the issues in a way that ensures that materials relevant to the ongoing criminal investigation are made available to prosecutors in a manner that respects the interests of a coequal branch of government. The Justice Department and the House of Representatives should continue their discussions and resolve this matter as quickly as possible.
Let me be clear: investigating and prosecuting crime is a crucial executive responsibility that I take seriously. Those who violate the law – including a Member of Congress – should and will be held to account. This investigation will go forward, and justice will be served.
27 Comments »
Leave a comment
Uncategorized
Why did Bush order these sealed? These records were obtained legally via the FBI obtaining a search warrant for Jefferson’s office. They got the search warrant under the pretense that $90000 was found in Jefferson’s freezer in August 2005. So this went through the legal channels, not like the NSA wiretapping.
It’ll give enough time for the mobile shredders to get to capitol hill.
The House and Senate Intel Panels were briefed on NSA. It’s a wonder they didn’t leak it to our enemies, oh… nevermind.
Wheres Dick Cheney when you need him…
Ryan – One guess is that the Republicans became nervous that Jefferson had as much on them as he had on himself. They complain that they did not get advanced warning before the records were seized. That’s the ticket, tell them you are coming so that you can get rid of anything that might be dangerous to your political career. The power brokers need advance warning so that deals can be made. God forbid that our congress be treated as shabbily as the rest of us. I can assure you that the records are being kept as safe now as Bush’s National Guard records were when he ran for president. Dirty politicians on both sides continue to drag our country down. Our current crop of politicians are as corrupt as any that you will find in Russia or Mexico. We start by cleaning house for a few elections, insist on term limits, and possibly if the Repubs can’t nominate any better man for president than Bush; we demand IQ tests.
Anti-American speech on Memorial Day. Shame on you. Why are you attacking America and our President and Congress?
All American speech. They died so that I could have the right to tell you freely that our congress and President are hurting our country. Of course Wayne you would like to take that right away from anyone that disagrees with you.
On the contrary, I think it’s fabulous that you have chosen a wartime Memorial Day to compare our country to Russia. I’m sure that the sons and daughters of veterans of the cold war, who have given their life for freedom, are glad you have evoked their bravery today.
I’m equally sure that the sons and daughters of veterans are sick of this president and congress as most Americans are.
Lets look at how you try to change the story. I say that our current crop of politicians are as corrupt as any in Mexico and Russia. You change the story to me comparing the whole country to Russia. You are a child.
I only question your bravery Wayne. Brave people are not afraid to admit that they are wrong. You took an opportunity to use all those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom to hit me with a lieing cheap shot. You are a cheap shot artist in the mold of Cheney and Rumsfeld. If you don’t like the message, attack the messenger. You must keep a copy of the Rumsfeld rules as your personal bible.
My favorite Rumsfeld rules:
“It is easier to get into something` than out of it.”
- Donald Rumsfeld, 1974
“Remember the public trust. Strive to preserve and enhance the integrity of the office of the Presidency. Pledge to leave it stronger than when you came.”
- Donald Rumsfeld, 1974
“The country cannot afford amateur hour in the White House.”
- Donald Rumsfeld, 1974
Donald Duck could have done a better job of following his own rules.
I see the cold war is not over, the commies have infiltrated the democratic party to tear down America.
Here’s the official crazy-lefty presidential chronology, in which all assertions are false.
November 2000: After losing all three television debates to Al Gore during a campaign marked by incompetence and deceit, uncharismatic business failure and draft dodger George W. Bush steals the election with help from corrupt Florida Republicans, his evil governor brother Jeb, a relative who worked for the Fox network, and racist officials who stopped blacks from voting.
December 2000: Amazed email recipients learn that 16th-century prophet Nostradamus predicted 2000 would see “the village idiot … come forth to be acclaimed the leader in the home of greatest power”.
July 2001: Impressions are confirmed by the release of a study by the Lovenstein Institute, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, that reveals Bush’s IQ to be the lowest of all presidents for 50 years. Top of the list are Bill Clinton (whose IQ of 182 is twice that of Bush), Jimmy Carter and John F. Kennedy.
September 2001: Despite his profound mental deficiencies, Bush successfully oversees strikes against the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon intended to provide the premise for oil wars in the Middle East.
September 2001: Bush and his enablers help bin Laden family members in the US – with whom Bush is in cahoots – fly to Saudi Arabia during a time when all other commercial flights are suspended.
April 2002: The invasion of Afghanistan – after a near four-week-long “rush to war” – is understood by clever pundits to be primarily a crafty means of ensuring construction of a massive pipeline carrying oil from the Caspian Sea.
March 2002: George W. Bush, idiot, waves at Stevie Wonder during the Presidential Gala, clearly seeking the singer’s attention and equally clearly having no idea Wonder has been blind since birth.
July 2002: George W. Bush, dunce, tells British PM Tony Blair: “The problem with the French is that they don’t have a word for entrepreneur.”
March 2003: After repeatedly linking Saddam Hussein to the September 11 attacks, Bush unilaterally invades Iraq. With support from British and Australian troops, among others, which is pretty sneaky for a unilateralist.
June 2003: According to trustworthy Palestinian sources, George W. Bush makes the following comments during a meeting with Palestinian Authority leaders: “God would tell me, ‘George, go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan’. And I did. And then God would tell me, ‘George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq’. And I did. And now, again, I feel God’s words coming to me, ‘Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East’. And, by God, I’m gonna do it.” Finding this entirely believable, British papers The Guardian and The Independent run with the claim on their front pages.
December 2003: The Guardian’s Mark Lawson, The Sydney Morning Herald’s Alan Ramsey, and The Australian’s Phillip Adams reliably report that Bush turned up at a Thanksgiving dinner for troops in Baghdad with a turkey made of plastic. Incredibly, Bush survives the dinner without being beaten by hungry and insulted soldiers.
October 2004: Bush wears a listening device in his first debate with John Kerry so that he may parrot responses from puppet-master Karl Rove.
November 2004: After losing all three television debates to John Kerry during a campaign marked by incompetence and deceit, blundering neocon pawn and war criminal George W. Bush steals the election with help from rigged electronic voting machines and a compliant, toothless media.
December 2004: Bush-approved nuclear tests provoke an Indian Ocean tsunami that devastates South-East Asia. And then he offers only a stingy $US950m in aid.
August 2005: By neglecting to sign the Kyoto Protocol, Bush causes Hurricane Katrina. He compounds his crime by doing nothing while babies and the poor are tortured and killed in New Orleans’ Superdome of Horror. His selection of New Orleans as the hurricane’s target is evidence of Bush’s lack of concern for black people.
May 2006: Enron executives – exemplars of the Bush Way – are found guilty of massive fraud, signalling the end of the Bush era. This is despite their crimes being committed during Clinton’s presidency, and the executives being arrested and tried during Bush’s presidency.
April 2077: Burke Blogger, 92, whose early adulthood was defined by opposition to Bush’s reign, dies of brain failure. His last words: “I blame Bush.”
The sad thing is that Bush’s stupidity is even worse than the jokes made about him. As for the April 2077 entry, I blame Gunner and those who think like her.
Those that are willfully indifferent to the problem of competence, or lack of, would rather watch this country go under than surrender power. All are corrupt in a predator government.
Run Gunner run.
Consider these facts.
Since the “conservative” Republicans took control of Congress in 1994:
1. Federal spending is up almost 60%, from $1.4 trillion in 1994 to over $2.2 trillion today! That is almost exactly the same percent increase that occurred between 1986 and 1993 – when the Democrats controlled Congress!
2. Republicans continue to fund Planned Parenthood, PBS, and the National Endowment for the Arts to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
3. The Department of Education continues to squander $60 billion a year.
4. The Department of Agriculture has 131,000 employees that work out of 7,400 field offices. That is unbelievable! The USDA spends $77 billion a year telling the nations farmers how to (or how not to) farm.
5. An EPA clerk shuts down hundreds of Oregon family farms because some obscure fish upstream “needed” the water. This happened even though the farmers had contractual rights to the water. There was no appeal process and hundreds lost their livelihoods.
6. “Conservative” Republican Senator Gordon Smith runs his 2002 campaign on a solid homosexual rights agenda.
7. We continue to send billion$ to an America-hating, world-government promoting organization called the United Nations.
8. Our “pro-life” President refuses to write a one page, signed memo to the FDA directing them to ban the use of a WMD called RU-486. This chemical weapon has killed over 500,000 American children since 1994 and could be outlawed tomorrow morning on his authority alone!
9. On March 13, 2003, in an historic betrayal, forty-eight Republican members of the U.S. Senate voted to reaffirm Roe v. Wade.
The list goes on and on. By any objective evaluation, we find that there is no discernable difference in how our Government is run regardless of whether the Democrats or the Republicans are in charge. Every year our spending increases and our debt continues to grow – going on $7 trillion today. Every year we find ourselves more heavily regulated, more heavily taxed and more heavily controlled. None have been worse than the current administration.
The politicians we have entrusted to represent us in our government have betrayed us. There are some exceptions of course. But most of the politicians from both the Republican and Democratic Parties have refused to honor the oaths they made when they were sworn into office. The fact is, most have actively worked to undermine the very Constitution they swore to defend! They are no better than the renegades and criminals from which our government is supposed to protect us from.
So why is there no difference in government no matter who is in charge. Because the power brokers run the country. They support both parties through donations and then demand that our government do their bidding.
The power brokers also use lobbying. That’s why there has never been any serious attempt at lobbying reform by either party. We hear the same old rhetoric every election and nothing ever gets done. Gullible people like Gunner who refuse to think for themselves fall into the trap of believing that voting for their particular hero will change the status quo. Yet the only thing that changes is the increase in the level of greed by those we deem fit for public office. I can imagine how happy Gunner was when the Repubs took control of Congress and the white house was run by a neo-con elected Republican. But what happened? More of the same and even worse. Stupid truly is as stupid does.
Look at the criminals in both parties currently being prosecuted. Both parties have plenty of them. Currently the Republican crooks outnumber the Democrat crooks, but we must factor in that there are more of them in office. I predict that when they are through investigating the white house that Bush and Cheney will be indicted for criminal behavior.
There are few left in government that truly run for office to make our lives or this country better. Most have a personal agenda that is well hidden until they are elected. Some make half hearted attempts at keeping promises just so they can remind us of how hard they worked for us. Read Jacumin here. Others don’t even attempt to try to do anything other than begin to outright steal from us while we are looking. Those are the ones that get caught. 98% of the wealth is owned by 2% of the people. I estimate that 98% of our elected officials run for office with a hidden agenda.
What’s the matter Gunner, rooster got your tongue?
Why do you want me to comment on a 3 year old article written by David Brownlow of the Constitutional party? I agree with some of what the traditional conservative says, but a third party is a wasted vote. He only got 1% of the vote. Now you know why Conservatives voted for Bush. I would say he was the lesser of two evils, but he’s a Christian. The liberals are the satan worshiping homosexual perverted baby killers that want to free give away programs. If you weren’t so ignorant, maybe you could get some of the power you are so jealous of.
Link to the article that BB cut and pasted moments before accusing me of not thinking for myself.
Bush is about as much a christian as Larry Flynt. When you call people names you should stop to realize that some of them are members of your own family. You are a hypocrite. There is no doubt in my mind there is a liberal in your family. Lastly, I wanted to show you that even your own party is and has been totally at war with each other and the Brownlow article is certainly proof of that. Yes, I used your own conservative website to show you that even your own party disagrees with how little has been accomplished with the Republicans in charge. By the way, you should be careful talking about Mary Cheney that way. Shame on you.
Speaking of baby killers, I heard High Dollar Dan’s wife once had an abortion. I don’t believe it, considering all the kids that they have. Somebody must be messing in the medical records again…
The difference between the democrats and Republicans is that if a Republican screws up, we get rid of him. If a democrat screws up (which is hard to do when you have no rules for yourselves) they rally around him and protect him.
I heard John McDevitt fathered a love child with a woman named Susan that moved to Texas while he was married.
Easley is subject of ethics probe
RALEIGH – The State Board of Ethics is investigating whether Gov. Mike Easley had a conflict of interest in helping award a lease to an investor group tied to a political supporter.
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray to God my soul to keep,
And if I should expire before y’all
I pray Burke County won’t send
U-call, We-haul.
Amen
i try to find something at google.com and take it on your site…thanks
I’m love this great website. Many thanks guy