When Senator Craig was arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, on June 11, 2007, he should have invoked a little known power of the legislative branch, as afforded by the Constitution, instead of simply throwing down his Senate business card and asking, "What do you think of that?"
If I had been him, and truly innocent of the charges, I would have excused myself from the interrogation room and set myself free from the judicial branch's authority.
Article I, Section 6, of the United States Constitution, states: "[Members of Congress] shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same."
In doing so, the checks-and-balances of our government may be maintained, without undue interference from the other branches of government.
So you see, unless Senator Craig was attempting to join the Minnesota chapter of the Taliban, in hopes of engaging in an insurrection against his nation, robbing an airport shop, or leading a riot on the tarmac, he was pretty much free to come and go as he pleased, without the hassle of the police interfering with him.
Simply engaging in lewd behavior may not meet the burden of being a felony. Besides, it would be up to state law to determine if the crime was felonious, or only a misdemeanor, as I believe it was (under Minnesota law).
But he wasn't in Washington, DC, at the time. Does he still get the protection of this portion of the Constitution? Of course he does. He was en route from Washington to his home in Idaho. As a result, he met the burden of the portion stating, "...in going to and returning from the same."
Certainly, George W. Bush, as president, uses the Constitution to his advantage (even the parts he creates) to protect himself, and his cronies, from congressional oversight, for such things as illegal wiretapping and secret international prisons; therefore, I believe it is plausible that a senator could use such directly expressed constitutional protection to ward off a policeman who said he/she was attempting to solicit sex in a public restroom.
2 comments:
I love your article about Senator Craig. The problem with many of our elected officials though is that they lack character, and values. The constitution may protect them but for some reason I don't know how comfortable I feel about one of my Senators being involved in immoral behavior.
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Thank you for your comment. Although, we may detest "immoral" behavior, we are lucky that our marvelous Constitution affords us the privilege of retiring those politicians, periodically, who offend us (unless they choose to retire voluntarily beforehand).
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