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Bipartisan outrage voiced over FBI raid
By UPI Staff
United Press International
May 23, 2006

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- U.S. Democrat and Republican leaders expressed outrage over a weekend FBI raid on the office of a U.S. House of Representatives member from Louisiana.

Saturday night, agents entered the Washington office of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., who has been under investigation for 14 months for allegedly accepting bribes in connection with business ventures in Africa, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Monday, Jefferson convened a news conference to condemn the raid as an "outrageous intrusion" and to deny any wrongdoing. A report Monday said the FBI had videotaped Jefferson allegedly receiving a payoff and investigators said they found $90,000 of the funds in a freezer in Jefferson's home.

The raid also drew criticism from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., who said congressional lawyers have been asked to probe the legality, the Post said.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., also issued a statement denouncing the raid.

"Insofar as I am aware, since the founding of our Republic 219 years ago, the Justice Department has never found it necessary to do what it did Saturday night, crossing this separation of powers line, in order to successfully prosecute corruption by members of Congress," he said.

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