Another Republican lawmaker has reported being illegally investigated, this time by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice.
The DOJ has opened the constituent mail of Texas Rep. Louis Gohmert’s at least twice, he said Tuesday.
That same day, Rep. Troy Nehls, also of Texas, said a Capitol Police officer had taken illegal photographs of materials being processed in his office.
In January, Gohmert’s office received a letter from a Christian missionary already opened and with a stamp indicating it had been through the DOJ mailroom and had been X-rayed, the congressman said in a statement.
Last week, Gohmert said, another opened letter arrived at his office, this time with a postmark indicating it had been delayed four and a half months. That letter also had a DOJ stamp, he said.
Congress and the executive branch have different ZIP Codes and their mail should not be mixed, much less opened, according to the congressman.
“It is gravely concerning that since Congressional mail is constitutionally protected under the Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution, it could be routed, intentionally or not, through the highly partisan DOJ. This is felonious behavior,” Gohmert said in his statement.
My statement on the apparent unconstitutional tampering of my private constituent mail: pic.twitter.com/YnIkkLQ0xJ
— Louie Gohmert (@replouiegohmert) February 8, 2022
“Given reports breaking today of an Inspector General’s investigation being opened after another Republican member alleged Speaker Pelosi’s Capitol Police were in his personal office photographing his work product, the Democrat’s spying on political opponents appears to know no end,” he continued.
Nehls, who has been a thorn in the side of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her kangaroo court investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol incursion, said in a news release Tuesday that a Capitol Police officer entered his unlocked office on Nov. 20 and photographed “confidential material.”
A few days later, he said, three plain-clothed Capitol Police officers came into the office and questioned one of Nehls’ staffers about material photographed that the Capitol Police considered “suspicious writing.”
According to Nehls, police said the writing seemed like a veiled threat against the congressman, but “it became clear that my office was under investigation and surveillance by USCP. We were the ‘threat.'”
Pelosi has applied extreme tactics toward House members — constituents cannot freely approach their elected representatives without Pelosi having them monitored.
“The Speaker has already required offices to turn in names, dates, and times of our meetings, along with the purpose of the meeting, for our constituents to be allowed entrance into our office buildings to meet with their duly-elected member of Congress,” Gohmert said in his statement.
“Then, we are told, she has the Capitol Police doing opposition research that is catalogued for later use.
“We have never ever seen a Congress so partisan to such an unethical and illegal extent. The people behind this should be hoping and praying that they will not be treated in the same manner in which they are running roughshod over Republicans when and if Republicans retake the majority.
According to Gohmert, the Supreme Court has ruled that the DOJ is prohibited from even using a search warrant to go through a congressman’s mail or office.
“We want answers to this outrage, not excuses,” he said.
Newsweek reported that it had reached out to the Justice Department about the congressman’s claims and had not received an immediate response.
Speaking on the House floor, Gohmert said the Biden administration and House Democrats don’t think House rules, the laws or the Constitution mean what they say.
[firefly_embed]
[/firefly_embed]
“We have got to get back to following the Constitution if we’re going to preserve this republic,” he said. “But it is in [a] dire situation. It is in a desperate situation, and if we do not get back to following the Constitution and observing the rules of the House, then our republic will be lost.
“And that’s where we’re being taken right now.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
