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By Vladimir Posted in $90000 | Congress | IN HIS FREEZER!! | William Jefferson — Comments (7) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

This appeal has to do with the fact that FBI agents removed documents from the Congressman's office. The other appeal, yet to be heard, has to do with the admissibility of grand jury testimony of Jefferson's Congressional staffers.

Administration Rebuffed on House Office Search

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration failed on Monday to persuade the Supreme Court to hear its argument that the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s highly unusual search of a Louisiana congressman’s office nearly two years ago was carried out properly.

Without comment, the justices let stand a ruling by a federal appeals court that the Constitution provides members of Congress with a “nondisclosure privilege” that was violated by the search of Representative William J. Jefferson’s Congressional office.

The appeals court ordered the government not to review any material related to Mr. Jefferson’s Congressional work that was seized during the 18-hour search before returning it. His lawyers contend that this order covers about half the material, or some 18,000 pages.

The late-night execution of a search warrant on May 20, 2006, by a team of F.B.I. agents was the first time that agents of the executive branch had searched a Congressional office.

Mr. Jefferson, a Democrat [and, BTW, a superdelegate -ed.], is awaiting trial on 16 counts of soliciting bribes, obstructing justice, money laundering and other offenses. A search of his home, conducted before the search of his office in the Rayburn House Office Building, found $90,000 in cash in the freezer. His trial was scheduled to start in February, but it has been delayed indefinitely because of pretrial defense motions. The government told the Supreme Court that it was ready to proceed without the evidence from the office search.

emphasis added
H/T Vladimir's Mom