Raid on Congressman's Office Hits Constitutional Nerve

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A new poll out today shows that 86% of the public sides with the Bush Justice Department and the FBI in the raid on a Congressman's office on Capitol Hill. Even though Democrat William Jefferson is accused of taking a bribe, leaders of both parties say the 18-hour raid violated the separation of powers, basing their claim on the so-called "speech and debate clause" of the Constitution. Reasonable legal minds disagree about what that means. Should agents of the executive branch be allowed to rifle through papers related to legislative debate? Can members of Congress hide behind a legal shield other Americans don't have? We hear what the Constitution says and how it's interpreted by both sides. Making News: New Orleans Licks Its Wounds as Hurricane Season BeginsIn New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin begins his second term on this first day of Hurricane season. Brian Tevenot of the New Orleans Times-Picayune says that as the Army Corps of Engineers readies its hurricane protection system, residents are prepared for "hair trigger" evacuations. Reporter's Notebook: Should We Meddle in Darfur?The memory of genocide in Rwanda has fostered demands for international action to curtail genocide in Darfur in Western Sudan, where, despite government concessions, rebel groups have continued fighting among themselves, endangering the innocent civilians they claim they're protecting. We hear differing views on the effectiveness of outside intervention from Alan Kuperman, an expert in international affairs from the University of Texas in Austin, and Jemera Rone of Human Rights Watch.
A new poll out today shows that 86% of the public sides with the Bush Justice Department and the FBI in the raid on a Congressman's office on Capitol Hill. Even though Democrat William Jefferson is accused of taking a bribe, leaders of both parties say the 18-hour raid violated the separation of powers, basing their claim on the so-called "speech and debate clause" of the Constitution. Reasonable legal minds disagree about what that means. Should agents of the executive branch be allowed to rifle through papers related to legislative debate? Can members of Congress hide behind a legal shield other Americans don't have? We hear what the Constitution says and how it's interpreted by both sides.
  • Making News: New Orleans Licks Its Wounds as Hurricane Season Begins
    In New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin begins his second term on this first day of Hurricane season. Brian Tevenot of the New Orleans Times-Picayune says that as the Army Corps of Engineers readies its hurricane protection system, residents are prepared for "hair trigger" evacuations.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Should We Meddle in Darfur?
    The memory of genocide in Rwanda has fostered demands for international action to curtail genocide in Darfur in Western Sudan, where, despite government concessions, rebel groups have continued fighting among themselves, endangering the innocent civilians they claim they're protecting. We hear differing views on the effectiveness of outside intervention from Alan Kuperman, an expert in international affairs from the University of Texas in Austin, and Jemera Rone of Human Rights Watch.

Mayor Nagin presents 2006 emergency preparedness plan

Army Corps of Engineers on repairing hurricane protection system before June 1

Thevenot's article on New Orleans, hurricane season

Representative William Jefferson (D-LA)

President Bush on materials recovered from Congressman Jefferson's office

ABC News poll on FBI searches

Kuperman's New York Times op-ed piece on the strategic victimhood of Sudan

Human Rights Watch on Sudan

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Host:

Warren Olney