quality:correction
United States v. Rayburn House Office Building: searches of congressional offices

The FBI raid prompted a bipartisan uproar, with immediate objections from congressional leaders in both parties, who said that the raid was inappropriately aggressive and violated the Speech or Debate Clause. In a statement, Republican Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert stated: "The actions of the Justice Department in seeking and executing this warrant raise important Constitutional issues that go well beyond the specifics of this case. Insofar as I am aware, since the founding of our Republic 219 years ago, the Justice Department has never found it necessary to do what it did Saturday night, crossing this Separation of Powers line, in order to successfully prosecute corruption by Members of Congress. Nothing I have learned in the last 48 hours leads me to believe that there was any necessity to change the precedent established over those 219 years." Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi stated that while "members of Congress must obey the law and cooperate fully with any criminal investigation", investigations "must be conducted in accordance with Constitutional protections and historical precedent". A number of legal experts stated that the raid was unconstitutional.