House Lawyers: Renzi Prosecution Unconstitutional

4 Dec 2008 // TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The legal staff for the U.S. House of Representatives has challenged the constitutionality of the Justice Department's prosecution of retiring U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi, effectively aligning with Renzi's defense.

The House counsel, in a friend-of-the-court brief, said federal prosecutors and the FBI repeatedly violated the Constitution's speech or debate clause, which grants members of Congress protections for their legislative acts.

The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House noted its filing is intended "to articulate and protect the House's interests — and not to defend defendant Congressman Richard Renzi."

Renzi, who was first indicted by a federal grand jury in February, is accused of engineering a swap of federally owned mining land to benefit himself and a former business partner. He is also charged with collaborating with the former president of his insurance company to misappropriate insurance premiums for his and others' enrichment.

The speech and debate provision gives members of Congress protection from having to disclose information about their legislative work and bars the Justice Department from indicting or prosecuting for those activities.

The House counsel and Renzi's attorneys contend federal prosecutors and the FBI repeatedly sidestepped the provision in investigating Renzi for criminal activity — including through court-ordered wiretapping of Renzi's cell phone, in interviews with three former aides and in consensually recorded phone calls.

On Thursday and Friday, federal Magistrate Judge Bernardo Velasco will hear arguments related to those and other issues, although the brief filed by House lawyers won't officially be taken up.

The motions he will consider include one to dismiss the indictment based on speech or debate clause violations and another to dismiss based on alleged violations of separation of powers.

Other motions seek to suppress a wiretap of Renzi's cell phone, staff interviews and consensually recorded phone calls and cell phone records.

Federal prosecutors maintain that Renzi's defense "distorts the intent and plain meaning" of the speech or debate clause. They also have said they were not relying on Renzi's legislative acts to prove their case.

Renzi did not seek re-election to a fourth term in Arizona's 1st Congressional District, which covers eight counties.

U.S. District Judge David Bury has scheduled a trial for March.