SCOTUSBLOG.com reports that The Supreme Court refused on Monday to hear the Justice Department appeal seeking to restore the FBI’s full authority to search the offices of members of Congress under investigation for crime.

The Court’s denial of review in U.S. v. Rayburn House Office Building Room 2113 (07-8160) left intact a ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court that gives members of the House and Senate some protection under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause against criminal searches — even with a warrant — of their legislative offices.

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More of the same when it comes to the government protecting its own, but oddly enough, this time the Department of Justice was the odd man out. Maybe the change in Attorney General has done some good with respect to making Justice an independent entity again. We can only hope.

So even when a member of Congress is (legitimately) suspected of a crime, their offices can’t be searched, even with a warrant. There is something fundamentally wrong with that, but members of Congress have always enjoyed special status with respect to the laws they enact, so why leave themselves open on this issue.

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