Renzi: FBI taped discussions on leadership races

Lawyers representing Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) claim that the government “recorded dozens of sensitive conversations concerning House leadership races” after the 2006 elections, according to new legal filings. 

Renzi’s legal team, fighting 35 criminal counts brought by the Department of Justice (DoJ), contends that the federal government recorded portions of a conference call involving the entire House Republican Conference — days after the mid-term elections when Democrats won control of Congress.

{mosads}In one of many legal motions filed on Wednesday, Renzi’s lawyers stated, “The Justice Department recorded calls in which Congressman Renzi engaged in sensitive discussions concerning the leadership and direction of the House Republican Party with other members of Congress, including candidates for the leadership.”

In April, The Hill reported that FBI wiretaps picked up the voices of several members of Congress in their conversations with Renzi, but the details of those calls were unclear at the time.

Through the discovery process, Renzi’s lawyers have been informed that, a couple weeks before the 2006 election, a 30-day wiretap order was granted on the cell phone used by Renzi.

Politics played a major role in the handling of Renzi’s case, according to the defendant’s filings.

The documents note that, after the 2006 elections, then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was under pressure amid the U.S. attorneys scandal to reassure Congress that the DoJ would “pursue corruption with vigor.”

On April 18 2007, federal investigators raided the Virginia home of Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.).

“Then,” the Renzi legal motion states, “on April 19, 2007, during the Attorney General’s testimony before the Judiciary Committee hurriedly executed a search at Congressman’s Renzi’s family insurance business, without even signing the warrant papers…”

The motions point out that Renzi and Doolittle stepped down from committee assignments within days of the DoJ’s actions

Renzi’s lawyers allege that government sources leaked information to the media before his 2006 reelection race, which hampered his chances in the competitive seat. Renzi, who won his 2006 race by eight percentage points, is not seeking reelection this cycle.

The lawmaker’s attorneys are calling on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona to dismiss all the counts against the lawmaker for a variety of reasons, “including the government’s repeated, deliberate, and continuing violations of [the] Congressman’s attorney-client privilege.”

The motions argue that the government recorded more than 50 privileged phone calls between Renzi and his attorney.

DoJ alleges that Renzi promised to support legislation for a land deal that allegedly netted him more than $700,000. He is facing many criminal counts, including conspiracy, money-laundering, extortion and insurance fraud.

But the Arizona legislator charges that the executive branch violated the Speech or Debate Clause because DoJ asked current and former Renzi staffers to provide documents “without [the] congressman’s knowledge or approval.”

The Renzi motions add, “Neither Congressman Renzi nor the House of Representatives was given the opportunity to assert the protections of the Speech or Debate Clause prior to the grand jury appearances or interviews.”

Renzi’s team also suggests that the federal government was leaking information to the media while the lawmaker was burying his father: “The government’s improper investigation culminated in a sealed indictment that was returned on February 20, 2008, the same day Congressman Renzi buried his father, General Eugene Renzi, at Arlington National Cemetery.”

Two days later, federal prosecutors announced their case against Renzi.

The documents indicate that a former member of Renzi’s staff served as an informant “throughout much of the investigation.”

To secure the wiretap, the government initially indicated it would monitor only certain phone calls, according to Renzi.

Yet, Renzi’s motion claims, the government did not abide by that promise.

“For example,” the legal document states, “the government monitored and even transcribed personal calls between Renzi and his wife….the government also recorded calls between Congressman Renzi and his family, including a conversation with his young daughter about her Thanksgiving outfit and a call with his brother about his family’s Thanksgiving plans.”