Law enforcement calls it “tickling the wire”, an old trick in which investigators leak something or arrest someone and hope people will respond by getting on a wiretapped phone and talking.

Rep. Rick Renzi/official photo

By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. – A lawyer for Rep. Rick Renzi of Arizona has accused the Justice Department of leaking an investigation over a land swap as a way to push Renzi into revealing details on his wiretapped cell phone.
Renzi attorney Reid Weingarten told a federal judge in Tucson that the leaks to media amount to misconduct. A prosecutor said the government investigated the leaks but couldn’t find a source.
The accusations came in a hearing on the retiring Republican’s request to have corruption charges dismissed.

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Once again the legal staff for the House of Representatives finds itself caught in a predicament: defending a member of Congress accused of wrongdoing. The legal staff says it’s intervening to protect the integrity of the institution, not Renzi. Nonetheless, it’s trying to sink the government’s case.  Not a great position to be in.

Rep. Rick Renzi/official photo

Arthur H. Rotstein
The Associated Press
The legal staff for the U.S. House of Representatives has challenged the constitutionality of the Justice Department’s prosecution of retiring U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi, effectively aligning with Renzi’s defense.
The House counsel, in a friend-of-the-court brief, said federal prosecutors and the FBI repeatedly violated the Constitution’s speech or debate clause, which grants members of Congress protections for their legislative acts.
The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House noted its filing is intended “to articulate and protect the House’s interests – and not to defend defendant Congressman Richard Renzi.”
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Read House of Rep. Counsel Filing