A constitutional clause designed to protect members of Congress from abusive or harassing lawsuits is increasingly being used by lawmakers as a shield in public corruption investigations, frustrating investigators even as the FBI attempts to police wrongdoing at a pace not seen since the Watergate scandal. Full Story »
Posted by Derek Hawkins
Johnson presents a disconcertingly wide array of legislators who appear to be using a special legal status to protect them from Justice Department investigations of possible criminal conduct for public corruption in office, and their questionable legal arguments.
Under a constitutional provision known as the “speech or debate clause,” lawmakers have wide protections that cover their work on Capitol Hill. That means legislation, floor speeches, and wiretaps that capture information related to votes and strategy are often out of bounds in developing a criminal case.
Who can we trust here? Corrupt politicians? Politically tainted investment and enforcement agencies? Who watches the watchers? How can we fix this?
This news is alarming on at least three levels: that elected officials would be involved in serious corruption tarnishes the fading star of the democratic experiment based on government of, by, and for the people. ALL of us, not just the privileged few. At another level entirely, it is outrageous that legislators--who MAKE laws--misuse the legal structure upon which our democracy is based to conceal crimes they commit in office. If that isn't bad enough, we face a Justice Department tainted by political partisanship and unconstitutional abuses of power. Add to that the current administration's eight year surveillance of ALL US citizens, and you have a catastrophic formula for destroying our form of government. These legislators claim protections that the rest of the nation's residents don't enjoy, though freedom from unwarranted search and seizure is guaranteed in the Constitution. In the process, our elected officials are fleecing their own constituents for personal gain. Have we devolved to nothing more than an oligarchy, and the rest of us are slow to catch on to our loss?