(Bloomberg) -- Most Americans say the Federal Bureau of Investigation should be allowed to search a Congress member's office if it has a warrant, according to an ABC News poll.
The FBI has come under congressional scrutiny for searching the offices last month of Representative William Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, in the first such raid in U.S. history.
Eighty-six percent of the public sided with the FBI, with 78 percent of Democrats and 94 percent of Republicans backing the law enforcement agency, the poll found. The May 26-30 survey of 1,044 adults had a 3 percentage-point error margin.
Jefferson is under investigation for allegedly demanding more than $400,000 from Kentucky businessman Vernon Jackson to help him obtain telecommunications contracts in Africa. Jackson pleaded guilty May 3 to bribing Jefferson. The congressman has denied wrongdoing and hasn't been charged with a crime. |