US Lawmakers Cite Speech or Debate Clause to Thwart DOJ Probes
Members of Congress are increasingly citing the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause in an effort to fend off Justice Department investigations.
According to the Washington Post, the protests have met with some success; speech or debate challenges have killed investigations of two former congressmen and slowed a pending corruption case against another.
The clause says that, “for any speech or debate in either House, [members of Congress] shall not be questioned in any other place.” The clause is an issue, lawyers tell the newspaper, because many congressional probes involve legislative acts, such as whether a politician obtained earmarks in exchange for campaign contributions.
“The essence of speech or debate is you can’t introduce into evidence what the member did if it’s part of an official duty,” said one lawyer speaking anonymously to the newspaper. “If you can’t introduce legislation, a bill, a speech on the floor, how do you make the case?”
House members are emboldened by a 2007 federal appeals court ruling that found the FBI should not have viewed paper documents seized in a raid of then-U.S. Rep. William Jefferson’s office, the Post says. The decision found that the agency’s on-site review exposed legislative material to the executive branch and violated the legislative privilege created by the speech or debate clause. Jefferson was convicted of corruption in 2009 despite the ruling.
