The pay's the same, poke or not. ;-)
Posted on 12/28/2004 9:01:31 AM PST by areafiftyone
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House ethics committee will investigate Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., to determine whether he violated standards of conduct when an illegally recorded telephone conversation was leaked to reporters during a committee investigation.
Committee Chairman Joel Hefley, R-Colo., and ranking Democrat Alan Mollohan of West Virginia formed a four-member investigative subcommittee Tuesday to investigate the 1997 incident. McDermott was ranking Democrat on the ethics committee at the time, and the panel was investigating the conduct of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.
The incident began when a Florida couple taped Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, who was using his cell phone to discuss the case with other Republicans. The tape ended up in McDermott's hands and subsequently was leaked to reporters.
Boehner sued McDermott in federal court. U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan concluded earlier this year that McDermott was responsible for the leak and ordered the Washington lawmaker to pay Boehner for "willful and knowing misconduct" that "rises to the level of malice." Boehner said the payment could total about $600,000.
McDermott is challenging the ruling in a federal appeals court.
Responding to a complaint filed by Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, Hefley and Mollohan said the subcommittee would consider whether "McDermott's conduct violated the House Code of Official conduct," which requires members to conduct themselves "at all times in a manner which shall reflect creditably on the House of Representatives."
The investigative panel also will consider whether McDermott ran afoul of a government ethics code, and committee rules barring improper disclosures and protecting confidential information.
Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill., will head the panel. Other members are Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif.; Phil English, R-Pa., and Robert Scott, D-Va. The subcommittee will report its findings to the full ethics panel, officially the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
Why not just wait and do the investigation posthumiously?
And the sooner the better. :-)
Gee .. it only took what ... 7 years to get around to doing this??
What a freaking farce! McDermott can saddle up and stand arm and arm with Saddam, Dennis Kucinich can accuse the President of civilian assinations, Dick Gephardt can call him a liar...the list goes on. Our congress is a sloppy barn full of swine with no morals or ethics.
This'll go nowhere. Only 7 years after the fact? Wow, the US Congresscritters are really moving on it, aren't they?
House Ethics did nothing at the time. Why has it stuck its head up so late in the game? Because the law suit has succeeded against McDermott in civil court at the appeals level. In short, the real world has rubbed the nose of House Ethics in the mess it has made on the carpet.
They are setting up to do something, anything, now to try to sweep under the rug a situation of one Member recovering serious damages from another Member for what the latter did in violation of criminal and civil law. House Ethics? BFD.
Congressman Billybob
Click for latest, "Jon Stewart, You Magnificent B*stard! I Read Your Book!"
It took 7 years to go through the courts.
Now that the decision is made, it is the time to bring the needed consequences to McDermott's career.
Isn't McDermott about due for another trip to Iraq? Saddam may need a visit from his friend. Maybe he and Scott Ritter can grab the same flight - they share the same money bag!
Maybe they'd even get around to reading it before they pass it--
They plan on censuring him on June 14, 2419.
Hang on to your hats!
How? The House members and their staff are paid salaries, not by the hour.
I'm sorry .. but if the ethic committee had problems with what McDermott did ... it should have been addressed years ago
At this rate .. how long will it take them to deal with what that traitor did in going to Iraq like he did??
20 years??
I know. Kinda mute now isn't it? Jeeze the House is real quick - I can feel the wind when they go by. Woooosh!
Why just McDermott? What not 90% of the democratic party caucus? Is it ethical to be a communist and anti-American?
Oh, I know, Free Speech! Anti-American activists do not belong in Congress!
Gee, the House "Ethics" Committee doesn't have a 7-year statute of limitations? Well, at least this silly "investigation" of scumbag McDermott might keep some of the House members out of other mischief. Like spending, spending, spending....
I'm perfectly happy to take what I can get. If they nail Baghdad Jim with a seven-year-old offense, that's just fine with me. It's like what they used to say to us as kids when we were punished for something we didn't do: "Well, if you didn't do it, just consider it as punishment for something you DID do!" McDermott has done more than enough other things to deserve any punishment he gets.
They do have the excuse that what was once an allegation is now a proven crime, although I think even that angle could have been dealt with some time ago.
Which traitor are you refering to?
And it'll take another 7 to sentence him!
"The House members and their staff are paid salaries, not by the hour."
How will this benefit the United States? What will we gain from it? If we take back a month's salary from everyone of these idiots and tell them to spend that month at home working on their lawns, how much can we reduce taxes?
This is the political effect of goofing off on the job. I'm sick of it. If there isn't pressing national business to attend to, they can just stay home and play these political games on their own dime and quit taking mine.
I love this whole scenario as it will put the House Ethics Committee into a hysterical tizzy trying to find a loophole in the rules so their bud can get off.
So what if he's already been found guilty in a court of law. The Law and ethics are two wholly different things, doncha know?
Leni
Well, it's about damn time!
"Why not just wait and do the investigation posthumiously?"
I agree that this has taken way too long-he must've crapped in somebody's messkit to start this so late.
McDermott has put out an urgent fundraising letter that has been linked on DU. Too bad they threw what they had down a rathole on phony ballot issues. They're tapped.
McDermott
7 years if you're in Congress, Son.
Here's a link to FrontPageMag...Baghdad Bonior.
As if that is going to happen....
Which is all you need to know about DemoRats.
while the committee is at it, why don't they investigate possible connections between McDermott and the obvious election fraud committed in King County to snatch the governorship from duly elected Republican Dino Rossi. McDermott's constituents are exactly the sorts who vote twice or thrice under names of all their multiple personalities.
Nail his Saddamn loving A
He's worthless, but the people in his district (7th) don't get it, and will keep voting him in.
Just for info to show what a butthead he really is.
May 1, 2004 Rep. Jim McDermott Assailed for Omitting God from Pledge of Allegiance
On April 27, Representative Jim McDermott, Democrat from Seattle, was given an assignment by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's office: Open the House session with the obligatory recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, a task that rotates among House members.
When McDermott delivered the pledge, he omitted saying the words "Under God," and that created an uproar.
Representative Pete Sessions, Republican of Texas, blamed McDermott for "embarrassing the House and disparaging the majority of Americans who share the values expressed in the pledge," ....more here
IMO, the house ethics committee has a different definition of ethics than I do; it probably will come to naught.
...and having McDimwit spend a couple of years (hopefully) in court would only be good for the country. I heard this wacko say on a local liberal radio talk show that the Rs were responsible for the Bin Laden tape that aired just before the election. In his puny, perverted mind they did this so the Democrats would be scared to come out of their houses on election day, thus assuring a Bush win.
Note to Jim: Why would only the Democrats be scared? Oh, because Democrats are whiners and wimps and girlie men. Which is apparently why Democrat "men" now have two women Senators and one woman governor in Washington State. They now have three additional "mommies" to take care of them!
Do you think we'll wait 7 years for Sandy Berger's lapse of memory?
Do you think we'll wait 7 years for Sandy Berger's lapse of memory?
Half way down my profile page I offer my simple goals (that agree with you) to reform our government: "If I were king for a day..."
NO! It's called accountability. Better to start with a person who was willing to cow-tow to Saddam - and totally destroy the guy's credibility.
McDermott? Wasn't he one of the Slime-Ball Senators who went to Iraq before the war in support of Saddam, and slammed the US and Bush?
Yes
TY
Traitor that he is. (forgot to add that one!)
From the article:
U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan concluded earlier this year that McDermott was responsible for the leak...
Looks as though the House was, reasonably, waiting for the court system to issue a finding before proceeding with an 'internal House matter'. It would be unseemly, and honestly presumptious, to issue an ethics ruling with a case pending in Federal court. Now that there has been a finding of fault in this case, the House has grounds to pursue the ethics complaint.
Traitor....he wears the name well.
The pay's the same, poke or not. ;-)
What's the rush?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.