Republican Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert claimed Tuesday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) opened and inspected correspondence from his constituents before forwarding it to his office.
His staff received a letter in January addressed to his congressional office that was “already opened and stamped ‘DOJ MAILROOM’ with a date and ‘X-RAYED’ on the stamp,” Gohmert alleged in a statement Tuesday. He also claimed another piece of constituent mail, postmarked September 2021, was opened and stamped by the DOJ before being forwarded to his office over four months later.
“It is deeply concerning that Legislative Branch mail is somehow being co-mingled with Executive Branch mail when we have completely different proprietary zip codes,” Gohmert said in the statement.
Gohmert argued that the legislative and executive branches are “separate but co-equal branches of government” and that “even if it were a mistake to deliver Congress’ mail to the DOJ, the DOJ has an obligation to immediately notify Congress and forward the mail without opening it.”
My statement on the apparent unconstitutional tampering of my private constituent mail: pic.twitter.com/YnIkkLQ0xJ
— Louie Gohmert (@replouiegohmert) February 8, 2022
“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,” the congressman continued. “This is felonious behavior.” (RELATED: GOP Rep Says Capitol Police ‘Illegally’ Investigated His Office, Staffer ‘Caught Them In The Act’)
Gohmert accused “Speaker Pelosi’s Capitol Police” of spying on Republican members of Congress for the Democratic Party. He also said in the statement that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi requires congressional offices to turn in logs detailing the times, dates, names and reasons for meetings with constituents.
Republican Texas Rep. Troy Nehls claimed Tuesday that the U.S. Capitol Police “illegally” came into his office twice during the Thanksgiving recess in 2021. Nehls alleged the Capitol Police photographed sensitive legislative items in the first visit and, when they returned two days later, questioned one of his staffers about the contents. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger stood by his officer in a statement, saying, “No case investigation was ever initiated or conducted into the Representative or his staff.”
“We have never ever seen a Congress so partisan to such an unethical and illegal extent,” Gohmert added in his statement. He said the “people behind this should be hoping and praying” the same tactics will not be used against them “when and if Republicans retake the majority.”
Gohmert demanded answers, “not excuses,” saying, “The Supreme Court has made it clear that the Department of Justice cannot even use a search warrant to search a Representative’s mail and office.”