George Bush tossed a lifesaver to Denny Hastert and the rest of the imperial Congress today by temporarily sealing the evidence seized from the legislative offices of Rep. William Jefferson, the target of an FBI corruption investigation. Sealing the records gives both branches more time to work out their differences, Bush said, but made clear that prosecutors would eventually gain access to the material:

President Bush personally ordered the Justice Department today to seal records seized from the Capitol Hill office of a Democratic congressman, marking a remarkable intervention by the nation's chief executive into an ongoing criminal probe of alleged corruption. ...

In a six-paragraph statement, Bush said he issued the order to give the Justice Department and angry lawmakers more time to work out an agreement on how to resolve the conflict. The materials, which have been described in court filings as two boxes of documents and copies of computer files, will be held by Solicitor General Paul D. Clement, who is not involved in the Jefferson probe, Bush's statement said. ...

"Those who violate the law--including a member of Congress--should and will be held to account," Bush said. "This investigation will go forward, and justice will be served."

Yesterday, Hastert and Pelosi asserted that the Justice Department must cease reviewing the documents and ensure that their contents are not divulged. Once the papers are returned, "Congressman Jefferson can and should fully cooperate with the Justice Department's efforts, consistent with his constitutional rights," the statement said.

This gives all sides in Congress an opportunity to step down from the ledge and save their credibility before the White House pushes this to the Supreme Court -- where Hastert, Pelosi & Co will get derisively shot down for asserting that the Capitol grants sanctuary from law enforcement of any kind. Bush made clear in his statement that he created this 45-day period only for the purpose of dialing down the rhetoric, and not to surrender evidence collected by a valid subpoena authorized by a federal judge. This is often called a "cooling-down" period in union negotiations, but in this case it allows Hastert, John Boehner, and the rest of the GOP leadership an out from their hysterical public statements.

That blantantly dishonest hysteria is evidenced in this latest statement. The notion that Jefferson would cooperate if the materials were returned to him boggles the imagination. He had eight months to release that evidence to prosecutors, which is when the subpoena was first served. Why would he turn the data over to the FBI if Hastert and Pelosi successfully bully the executive branch into declaring Capitol Hill a sanctuary for corrupt politicians?

The responsibility for the raid falls squarely on House leadership, not the FBI. They have known of this matter for months, and the House counsel actually started to collect the material before eventually refusing to comply with the subpoena and the FBI investigators. If the FBI had not acted in opposition to this defiance, the executive would have ceded any authority to enforce corruption laws, now and in the future. Hastert, Pelosi, Boehner, and everyone else demanding the return of the materials argue explicitly for that result -- and the American people should not stand for it.

Will Hastert grab the lifesaver Bush has tossed him? Any smart man would. Two weeks ago, I would have put Denny Hastert into that category. Now I'm not so sure.

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» IT'S FRIDAY, SO IT'S POLITICS AS USUAL from Kitty Litter
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» IT'S FRIDAY, SO IT'S POLITICS AS USUAL from Kitty Litter
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