Editor:
Dave Uphoff
I think most people do not want the government snooping in on their life by monitoring phone calls or emails but with a court order most of us realize that the government is able to conduct searches of a person's home or office. However, it appears that our politicians feel that they should be immune to court ordered searches such as happened last week when the FBI searched the congressional office of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA). Jefferson had been suspected of taking bribes for putting together deals between American companies and some African countries. He also has been caught in a sting with marked bills that were found in his freezer. The search occurred after Jefferson had refused to comply with a subpoena to come up with certain documents.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi both objected to the search on the grounds that it violated the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government. They demanded that President Bush order the seized documents to be returned to Jefferson.
I don't quite understand the logic employed by Hastert and Pelosi. If someone is suspected of committing a crime and refuses to comply with a subpoena why should that person be protected just because he is a member of Congress? What does criminal activity have to do with separation of powers? I don't believe that members of Congress have diplomatic immunity in their own country.
The response by our congressional leaders reflects their arrogance and hypocrisy. It seems once someone is elected to Congress that person suddenly feels entitled to privileges and protections not afforded those who elected that person. This type of mentality is usually associated with someone who has achieved a status far beyond their abilities. Most politicians are not elected because of their intelligence or their sense of civic duty. Most are elected because they are good public speakers with a pleasant manner about them and will say whatever they have to say in order to get elected. In this day of television there are not very many, fat, bald headed politicians with a high pitched voice. And there certainly aren't many politicians who will support an unpopular act like raising taxes even though it may be the right thing to do. There are exceptions of course like Harry Truman who rose from running a haberdashery to becoming an effective president.