For the “Ugh” dumbassed rulings file:

“The FBI violated the Constitution when agents raided U.S. Rep. William Jefferson‚Äôs office last year and viewed legislative documents, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

The court ordered the Justice Department to return any privileged documents it seized from the Louisiana Democrat’s office on Capitol Hill. The court did not order the return of all the documents seized in the raid.

Jefferson argued that the raid trampled on congressional independence. The Justice Department said that declaring the search unconstitutional would essentially prohibit the FBI from ever looking at a lawmaker’s documents.

“The review of the Congressman’s paper files when the search was executed exposed legislative material to the Executive,” and violated the Constitution, the court wrote. “The Congressman is entitled to the return of documents that the court determines to be privileged.”

The raid was part of a 16-month international bribery investigation of Jefferson, who allegedly accepted $100,000 from a telecommunications businessman, $90,000 of which was later recovered in a freezer in the congressman’s Washington home.

‚ÄúWe‚Äôre pleased with the court‚Äôs decision that makes it clear that the search violated the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution,‚Äù Jefferson‚Äôs attorney, Robert Trout, said after a brief review of the ruling. He said he has not yet discussed the decision with Jefferson.”

Yeah, whatever. Point is that this ruling is stupid. Nevertheless it will have no effect on Jefferson’s trial and the DOJ doesn’t need those documents to secure a conviction. What it will affect is whether or not investigators can ascertain whether or not others connected to Jefferson got a piece of that pie he was chomping on.

I’m looking for the DOJ to up the ante and appeal this crap decision up the chain to the Supreme Court. The framers of the constitution never intended that a crook be protected hiding behind our founding document.