US | William Jefferson Supreme Court Stands Pat on FBI Raid of Rep's Office Separation of powers violated, appeals ruled By Nick McMaster Posted Mar 31, 2008 1:24 PM CDT Copied U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, talks to the media after voting in New Orleans in this Dec. 9, 2006, file photo. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) The Supreme Court declined today to hear an appeal of a ruling that the FBI violated separation-of-powers law in a 2006 raid on the office of Rep. William Jefferson, the New York Times reports. Though the raid itself was not unconstitutional, an appeals court found, the FBI went too far in allowing agents to look through the Louisiana Democrat's documents. The Bureau—which brought charges including bribery, racketeering and conspiracy against Jefferson—was forced to return the documents, but kept hard drives and other materials seized in the same raid. Jefferson has denied allegations he accepted bribes to secure business deals in Africa; lawmakers of both parties roundly criticized the White House for allowing the raid. Read These Next North Carolina shooting suspect once walked the red carpet. The gunman who killed 4 at a Michigan church was an ex-marine. 'We heard a big bang,' says churchgoer in Michigan Skydivers leap from plane 2 minutes before fatal crash. Report an error