Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) had his office and house raided by the Justice Department on the night before Alberto Gonzales appeared on
This Week to announce that
reporters could be prosecuted for Publishing secret data.
In Bush's Garroting of Democracy Robert Parry ties those two acts together.
The Bush administration's steady garroting of American liberties - already strangling the right to a fair trial and protections against warrantless searches - is now tightening its chokehold around the First Amendment's guarantee of a free press and respect for Congress as a co-equal branch of government.
This piece changes the story of Williams Jefferson's arrest from one of congressmen crying because they are not above the law to a very scary story about the president sending out a warning to all that may stand in his way.
The implicit chilling effect on congressmen and senators, who might otherwise consider holding Bush accountable for his own abuses, could not be missed.
Oh shit, the Constitutional Crisis thickens.