House panel chairman plans hearing on search of rep's office
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner said Tuesday he will summon Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller before his House panel to testify about their decision to search a lawmaker's office.
"I want to have Attorney General Gonzales and FBI Director Mueller up here to tell us how they reached the conclusion they did," said Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican and one of President Bush's most loyal House allies.
Gonzales has said that the search of Rep. William Jefferson's offices was legal and necessary because the Louisiana Democrat had not cooperated with investigators' efforts to gain access to evidence in a bribery probe. An affidavit on which the search warrant was based said investigators had found $90,000 stashed in the freezer of Jefferson's house.
"We would certainly consider a request for a hearing if one were to be made," said Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse. "We also hope that Congress recognizes it would be inappropriate for a federal official to discuss the specific details of an ongoing criminal investigation in a public hearing."
Even as Sensenbrenner, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, announced his hard line on the administration, congressional and Justice Department lawyers were working behind the scenes to meet on guidelines for any future searches. Several investigations are in progress that involve members of Congress, including an influence-peddling probe centered on convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Elsewhere in Congress, lawmakers who had once criticized the May 20 search of Rep. William Jefferson's office were backing off. Still others of both parties defended the search, saying an affidavit outlined charges that the Louisiana Democrat may have accepted bribes in exchange for his support of business dealings in Africa.
"I am extremely disappointed that some in this body, including the speaker and the minority leader, feel that somehow our actions are sacrosanct and above public scrutiny," said Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla. "Congress is hiding behind a shield that is not available to the average American."