Jefferson, D-La., office searched by F.B.I.

[Pengwuino]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12891430/

WASHINGTON - FBI agents searched the congressional office of Rep. William Jefferson late Saturday as part of an ongoing bribery investigation, NBC News has learned.

Jefferson, D-La., has denied involvement in any illegal activity.

The search, conducted by the Washington Field Office of the FBI, is extremely rare -- if not unprecedented, NBC reported.

This is all part of America's "Every representative must go" policy that seems to be going on lately. Yet something else our country doesn't need to be going through.

 

[Rach3]

Well, they are all corrupt, so I think they should all go. Same for the senators (except possibly Specter).

 

[Pengwuino]

They aren't ALL corrupt. Generalizations are bad.

 

[dav2008]

If they have nothing to hide then what's the problem?

Right, pengwuino?

 

[Pengwuino]

Exactly

10 characters

 

[Rach3]

They aren't ALL corrupt. Generalizations are bad.

Which one isn't accepting bribes?

 

[Pengwuino]

Which one isn't accepting bribes?

Unless you can produce a list of 535 individual cases of bribery towards every single congressman, your statement is unfounded

 

[dav2008]

Unless you can produce a list of 435 individual cases acquitting every single congressman of charges of bribery, your statement is unfounded.

 

[Pengwuino]

Unless you can produce a list of 435 individual cases acquitting every single congressman of charges of bribery, your statement is unfounded.

Oh yah, the Senate isn't part of our government

Re-read what you just wrote and get back to me

 

[dav2008]

Well I thought this thread was about representatives as in the house of representatives.

 

[Pengwuino]

My appologizes, representatives as anyone who representes the people. I've always hated how representatives only means people in the House of Representatives. I always just mean all of those people when i say representatives... i think i should get into the habbit of just saying "Congressmen"

 

[Rach3]

Pengwunio: You are under the impression that there is a man or woman in congress who is not addicted to bribery? If so, name that person, and I will personally bribe them. As proof, I'll have the phrase "Penguins suck" appended to the next appropriations, in some obscure section, under that congressperson's name.

 

[dav2008]

Well you still run into problems there because many people consider a "Congressman" to be a member of the House of Representatives only.

But I guess we're just arguing semantics now

 

[Pengwuino]

Yah, damn symantics (thats how i spell it because I've used computers too long )

 

[scott1]

Pengwunio: You are under the impression that there is a man or woman in congress who is not addicted to bribery? If so, name that person, and I will personally bribe them. As proof, I'll have the phrase "Penguins suck" appended to the next appropriations, in some obscure section, under that congressperson's name.

Don't they get paid $186,000 year?

 

[dav2008]

Don't they get paid $186,000 year?

$165,200 according to a quick google search.

What's your point?

 

[Gokul43201]

Don't they get paid $186,000 year?

Yeah.. just so that their salaries can easily be written as $c !

 

[Pengwuino]

Yeah.. just so that their salaries can easily be written as $c !

Well there's one reason why we shouldn't switch to the metric system!

 

[Rach3]

What the heck kind of units are those supposed to be?

c = 1.

 

[Pengwuino]

Now that's a good unit for them to use

 

[Rach3]

Yes it is.

 

[scott1]

Yeah.. just so that their salaries can easily be written as $c !

So they are breaking the laws of physics! We need a constional adment outlawing breaking of physics
No one can be paid $186,000/second without breaking the laws of physics

What's your point?

That they get paid WAY too much. They seem to get paid so much that there job is basically a bibery. Couldn't they do somthing better with the money like help hurricane katrine evacuee's, the Iraq war, national security etc.

 

[dav2008]

$165k isn't too much..

I mean you should be asking could they do something better with the millions of dollars they spend on campaigns every two years. (Or six years in the case of Senators since this thread is about both ;) )

 

[Rach3]

Cutting their salaries would only encourage them to accept bribes. Better to waste taxpayer money, then have them relying on lobbyists for sustainance.

 

[Rach3]

Caught on tape!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060521/ap_on_go_co/congressman_probe_7;_ylt=Av6F58y13vtn1A3zAa84Y5iGbToC;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A congressman under investigation for bribery was caught on videotape accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from an FBI informant whose conversations with the lawmaker also were recorded, according to a court document released Sunday. Agents later found the cash hidden in his freezer.

Busted!

 

[franznietzsche]

I really hope he spends a few years in prison. Not that its likely.

 

[Rach3]

I really hope he spends a few years in prison. Not that its likely.

Of course he will! There are plently of ex-congressmen in prison. Cunningham got an eight year sentence just this year.

 

[scott1]

Cutting their salaries would only encourage them to accept bribes. Better to waste taxpayer money, then have them relying on lobbyists for sustainance.

No it would keep people who just want money out of poltics. My great grand father got paid minum wage when he was a poltican and he never expect birbes(but of cource after he got he became a (good) lobbyist)

 

[Echo 6 Sierra]

I've read on cnn.com where one of the house leaders ran to the white house and complained to bush about the FBI not playing nice. Is there some law or statute that says that the senate and house offices are off limits to investigations or something or is it just that they're all afraid that their sanctuaries are being threatened? Didn't the Supreme Court just rule that law enforcement can enter your home if they have a search warrant and wait a reasonable amount of time after knocking?

 

[selfAdjoint]

I've read on cnn.com where one of the house leaders ran to the white house and complained to bush about the FBI not playing nice. Is there some law or statute that says that the senate and house offices are off limits to investigations or something or is it just that they're all afraid that their sanctuaries are being threatened? Didn't the Supreme Court just rule that law enforcement can enter your home if they have a search warrant and wait a reasonable amount of time after knocking?

This is a special case. You have to remember that the Constitution establishes Congress and the Presidential Administration (including the FBI) as separate branches of government and regulates their relationship. It also says what it doesn't allow between the branches can't happen. So the normal law of the land concerning searches and seizures doesn't apply - the House is not a home!

I am sure the search will be defended unser the infinitely extendable exra-Constitutional presidential powers that Bush now claims.