Congressional Privilege? Or Something Else?

There are reports out that the three top officials at the Justice Department were ready to resign if President Bush ordered the return of documents taken from Representative Jefferson's office by the FBI. One problem with stories like these is that they are based on anonymous sources. It can be difficult to judge the trustworthiness of the information under those circumstances. In this case there appears to be an awful lot of insider-type detail, so it's pretty safe to assume something big was going on behind the scenes.

Justice prosecutors and FBI agents feared that the White House was ready to acquiesce to demands from House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and other lawmakers that the materials be returned to the Louisiana congressman, who is the subject of a criminal probe by the FBI. Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, David S. Addington, was among the leading White House critics of the FBI raid, telling officials at Justice and on Capitol Hill that he believed the search was questionable, several sources familiar with his views said.

Administration officials said yesterday that the specter of top-level resignations or firings at Justice and the FBI was a crucial turning point in the standoff, helping persuade President Bush to announce a cease-fire on Thursday. Bush ordered that the Jefferson materials be sealed for 45 days while Justice officials and House lawmakers work out their differences, while also making it clear that he expected the case against Jefferson to proceed.

A lot of bloggers noticed the weird way in which Hastert and Pelosi leaped to the defense of Jefferson's supposed privilege. One has to wonder what else is going on here. Something about this makes it seem likely that there is more than just a relatively routine corruption case against one House member.

UPDATE: Others wondering the same thing: Cold Fury, Tigerhawk, Instapundit, Darth Misha,

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1. Blue Crab Boulevard » Blog Archive » Some Good Advice — May 28, 2006 @ 2:55 pm