United States v. Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2113, Washington, D.C. 20515

In 2006, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents executed a search warrant for Room 2113 of the Rayburn House Office Building (defendant), which was the office of Congressman William Jefferson. This was the first search warrant ever executed for a sitting Congressperson’s office. Jefferson promptly moved for the return of all seized property pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(g), asserting that the search violated the Speech or Debate Clause of the United States Constitution (the clause), which states that members of Congress may not be questioned in any other place regarding any speech or debate made in Congress. The district court denied Jefferson’s motion, reasoning that the warrant adequately prevented violation of the clause by excluding materials regarding legitimate legislative activity. Jefferson appealed the denial, and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) remanded the record to the district court to determine which materials, if any, were legislative records. The D.C. Circuit’s remand order outlined a process for Jefferson to examine copies of the materials seized and submit a list of documents that he believed were privileged to the district court. The federal government (plaintiff) was prevented from reviewing the seized materials throughout Jefferson’s motion and appeal. While the appeal to the D.C. Circuit was pending, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Jefferson with racketeering, solicitation of bribes, money laundering, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and related charges.