Speaker of the House Demands Answers From Bush On Unconstitutional Actions...

...Finally! But wait a minute...

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and other members of Congress have expressed concern to President Bush over unconstitutional actions by the executive branch. What was the issue that prompted Congress to speak out? Warrantless wiretapping? Domestic datamining? Guantanamo Bay? The war in Iraq?

No it was more serious than any of that!

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) told President Bush yesterday that he is concerned the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) raid on Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) congressional office over the weekend was a direct violation of the Constitution.

Hastert raised concerns that the FBI’s unannounced seizure of congressional documents during a raid of Jefferson’s Rayburn office Saturday night violated the separation of powers between the two branches of government as they are defined by the Constitution...

Hey Dennis, know what else violates the separation of powers? Presidents who use signing statements to supercede the legislative authority of Congress, Presidents who tell the country we must give up our rights because we're in WWIII when no formal declaration of war has been given, Presidents who block judicial review of their actions, and Presidents who fail to brief the full committees on national security matters as legally required. But you knew that, right?

More-

Hastert also singled out Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in that statement: “It would appear that the Attorney General himself was aware that Separation of Powers concerns existed … because in seeking the warrant the FBI suggested to the judge procedures it would follow to deal with Constitutionally protected materials.”

Dennis, if you've been the following the news in recent years, you would also know that it would appear that the Attorney General himself was aware that Geneva Convention concerns existed in the administration's use of torture he helped provide legal cover for. In addition, the Attorney General also appears to have been aware that the domestic spying program was in direct violation of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. I'm sure you're concerned about all of that too, of course.

Finally-

Calling the Saturday-night raid an “invasion of the legislative branch,” House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) predicted the case would eventually be resolved in the Supreme Court and hinted that Congress would take further action. The majority leader said Hastert would take the lead on the issue because he is the chief constitutional officer in the House...

...“When I raise my right hand and swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States, I mean it,” Boehner said, referring to the oath members take at the beginning of each Congress. “[Justice Department employees] take the same oath, so somebody better start reading the Constitution down there.”...

I think everyone in Washington could use a lengthy refresher course on the Constitution.

Okay, at this point, we need to recap...

You see when the most basic constitutional rights of the average American is violated systematically for the past several years, Congress expresses insincere concern at best and in some cases questions the patriotism of those critical of the government's behavior.

But when the constitutional rights of one of their fellow corrupt congressmen are violated, the alarms are sounded and they're willing to go all the way to the Supreme Court to rein in the Executive branch and its growing abuses of power.

We're in really sad shape here.

[Semi-related blog post: Snapshots of the U.S. under the Bush administration (Glenn Greenwald)]