(Note: I was tempted to title this pos”Hysteric Day”). I am going to have to mark this day down in the calendar as a watershed event. I am in agreement with an LA Times editorial. Not all of it of course -it is the LA Times – because somehow blaming Bush for this mess seems to be a stretch beyond reason. But of course it had to do with Congressional corruption and Speaker Hastert’s imperialistic views of Congress:

A Kentucky businessman has pleaded guilty to paying more than $400,000 in bribes to the family of Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) in exchange for his assistance with business ventures in Nigeria. Jefferson denies any wrongdoing. On Saturday night, FBI agents, armed with a warrant, searched Jefferson’s offices in the Rayburn House Office Building.

The search provoked a display of righteous indignation from Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who accused the Justice Department of the constitutional equivalent of desecrating a church. Joined by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), the speaker invoked the doctrine of separation of powers and demanded that the records be returned. This is the sort of bipartisanship the country can do without.

Like Willie Sutton, who said he robbed banks because that’s where the money was, the FBI searched Jefferson’s offices because that’s where he kept his records. This wasn’t a case of jackbooted thugs from the executive branch rifling willy-nilly through congressional files in search of embarrassing information. Unlike Sutton, the agents who searched Jefferson’s office were acting lawfully and within the requirements of the 4th Amendment.

Emphasis mine. For anyone keeping score that is two branches out of three supporting the search and seizure. Only the one branch which was the target of the search is declaring unique sovereignty over the Capitol Building and adjecent office buildings – somehow separate from the United States. It’s like Congress wants DC to be like Vatican City – a country within a country.

Hastert has some strange rationalizations and excuses for seceeding from the Union:

The issue that has concerned me, as Speaker, since Saturday night is not if the FBI should be able to search a member of Congress’ office, but rather how to do it within the boundaries of the Constitution.

…

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and I directed the lawyers for the House to develop reasonable protocols and procedures that will make it possible for the FBI to go into congressional offices to constitutionally-execute a search warrant.

Emphasis mine (in bold). There is a process for a search warrant in place. What Hastert is saying is he wants to make sure their is a SPECIAL process for members of Congress because, well they are SPECIAL. It really is time to throw these bums out. I do not want a process that allows a criminal the opportunity to hide or destroy evidence. We have let leaders get away with crimes in our good name without more than a slap on the wrist. Those who bring up Sandy Bergler’s limp punishment for stealing and destroying classified material central to the 9-11 attacks is the prime example of why the crowd in DC is a way too cozy right now.

Addendum: Ed Morrissey has much more on this secession  by Congress.