Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will make a special trip to Washington this evening to address the inaugural meeting of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus. [IMGCAP(1)]

Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and Dan Burton (R-Ind.) co-chair the new caucus, which works to maintain and improve relations between Pakistan and the United States, as well as focus on the issues faced by Pakistani-Americans.

The caucus meeting is open to the public and will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the House International Relations Committee’s Room 2172, located in the Rayburn House Office Building.

Speech or Debate. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has agreed to hear an appeal by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (R-Texas) of a lower court’s ruling that a race discrimination case against her can proceed. Johnson sought dismissal of a complaint brought by her former chief of staff, Beverly Fields, on grounds that the Constitution shields her from such suits.

The appellate court will now decide whether the clause in Article I that prohibits Members from being questioned about “Speech or Debate in either House … in any other place” protects them from lawsuits brought under the Congressional Accountability Act.

— Dori Berman and Suzanne Nelson