The War Between the House and DOJ

Byron York does some digging:

Among its other duties, the House Office of General Counsel represents the staff of the House of Representatives. Its purpose is not to be the lawyer for any individual but to represent the interests of the House as an institution; House rules specify that “legal assistance and representation shall be provided without regard to political affiliation.” Venable’s letter, along with those from other Jefferson staffers, indicates that the House Counsel took the position that neither Jefferson nor his staff should be required to turn over the subpoenaed documents to the Justice Department. And that suggests that the months-long resistance in the corruption case, which most outside observers have attributed to Jefferson’s individual intransigence in the face of overwhelming evidence against him, was in fact backed by the House of Representatives itself.

Also, as NRO’s Kate O’Beirne first reported, the House Counsel’s office has copies of the subpoenaed documents, which it is keeping in the Counsel’s offices. Given that Jefferson’s staff consulted with the Counsel, and that the Counsel represents staff in such disputes, it is likely that the copies were made as part of the process of that legal representation. And it also suggests that this affair has been a standoff involving the House versus the Justice Department, as opposed to Rep. Jefferson versus the Justice Department, from the beginning.

In which case the House Counsel is obstructing justice. Congressman are not above the law, and Jefferson is being investigated for felony bribery and corruption. Hard to see how anybody but a lawyer could make the absurd case that House speech and debate laws provide immunity from these charges.