Leave it to those egotistical men and women in Congress to remind us why we need three branches of Government. While the President has a lot of power, he is one person. The President cannot force people in government to do something illegal – they will just run to the press or congress and blow the hole thing open.

But when the mob in Congress get’s of one mind, there is no one to stop them from declaring themselves extra constitutional powers. The idea of 500+ people taking control of the country might have seemed ludicrous when the country was founded. But in a population of 300 Million, finding 500 liked-minded zealots is not so hard to imagine in 2006. So it really, really bothers me to see Reps and Dems (and the liberal media covering for a Dem) run out and say a Congressman is beyond the reach of the law:

For all the intense partisanship that has surrounded the wave of legal and ethical cases on Capitol Hill, the Jefferson case brought some Democrats and Republicans together on one point: that the all-night search conducted by the F.B.I. raised questions about whether the executive branch had violated the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers by carrying out a raid on the official office of a member of Congress.

Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, said Monday that he had concerns about the constitutionality of the search and was seeking a legal opinion. Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the minority leader in the House, said that “Justice Department investigations must be conducted in accordance with constitutional protections and historical precedent.” Some House Republicans said they were also disturbed by the way the search was handled.

“I think it is really outrageous,” said Representative David Dreier, the California Republican who is chairman of the Rules Committee.

You know Congress, it’s pretty simple. Don’t do anything illegal and there will be no reason to search your offices. But the idea a Senate office is now not part of these United States, a magical location where the laws of this country are suspended and anything can occur, is just stunning insane. This is a government of the people and by the people. So get over this idea you are some super-class of citizen. You are not. And the minute you get that idea it will require “We the People” to fire every last one of you. And since I am an unaligned independent, I could care less whether you have an R or a D behind your name.

Now if you want to see Republicans lose support, just go back on your promises to force Congress to abide by the rules of this land – a promise made in the Contract With America. I dare you to try that one.

Addendum:  It is worse than I feared.  The FBI followed procedure and the Congressional lawyers held back evidence.  The FBI then got a search warrant from a judge:

The refusal by the House Counsel led the FBI to seek a search warrant from Judge Thomas Hogan to send agents into Jefferson’s Rayburn Building office, room 2113, according to officials.

“Left with no other method, the government is proceeding in this fashion,” states the search warrant application filed by FBI agent Timothy Thibault.

The warrant was issued by Judge Hogan last Thursday and instructed Capitol Hill police “to provide immediate access” to Jefferson’s office.

That means those in Congress are complaining about the other two branches of government doing their jobs as they should, and somehow assuming they are truly above the law.  No person in America should forget how these people responded initially, because that reflected their true feelings.  The spin will now commence.