Posted on 02/01/2008 5:14:39 AM PST by Seaside
WASHINGTON -- Democratic Rep. Jim McDermott has paid more than $64,000 in damages to House Republican leader John Boehner -- the first payment in a decadelong dispute over an illegally taped telephone call involving Boehner and other GOP leaders.
The payment, which includes $50,000 in court-ordered punitive damages, $10,000 in statutory damages and $4,169 in interest, is the first of what could be more than $850,000 in fines and fees owed by McDermott, D-Wash.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattlepi.nwsource.com ...
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He really pushed and fought for this one. It took him years but he won.
“Baghdad Jim” is now just baggy Jim.
Love it!
Bleeping Finally!
Now to get Hitlery to pay back taxes on the cattle futures!
Some good news!
Have a nice day Freepers
Justice is served! Finally!!!!
They got this process stretched out over so many years that nobody remembers, and the press can say “old news.” Justice delayed is justice denied. Republicans have resigned days after lesser accusations were made.
Justice delayed is justice denied!
I type toooooo sloooow!
What a joke. If some conservative did this there would be howls of protest. The media would be screaming this “scandal” will cost the party control of Congress, etc etc.
I know a lot people around here have lost all confidence in Newt. I was a very strong Newt supporter for years and years, even after his fall from grace in the House. The final straw for me was his ‘debate’ with AlGore on global warming. He shot his wad (not a bad phrase, look it up!) with that.
I think Newt’s, and the country’s, fortunes would have been quite different if Newt could gotten even a smidgen of the support from the GOP that Bubba got from the Dems in his darkest moments. The GOP has absolutely no C. A. Jones when it comes to defending its own. Their record when it comes to that is pathetic.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand, I get some comfort from this step finally arriving, but there’s still a lot more that will never be settled.
ABSOLUTE SILENCE from the utterly corrupt democrat party media, in full cover-up mode.
Whee haw!!!
Took too long, but this is an important result that will bear fruit for a long time.
Great news AND FReeper comments that are OUTSTANDING! Bump-to-the-truth!
ping
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy than scumbag McDermott...hope this utterly ruins him for life financially....POS
Wow, it only took eleven years - quite a commentary on the legal system that.
I’d love to see how they treat each other when they meet in the halls or sessions. Bet it is a frosty relationship.
I think it’s less a matter of cojones than not wanting to be perceived as circling the wagons around miscreants like the RATS do.
If “our” guys do wrong, I want them out. But I don’t want them railroaded.
What has happened to the couple who made the recording? Anything?
Recorded telephone conversations
In December of 2004, Rep. McDermott came under investigation by the House Ethics Committee when they had to determine whether he violated standards of conduct for leaking an illegally recorded telephone conversation during a committee investigation in 1997. At that time the committee was investigating the conduct of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich.
The illegal telephone conversation was recorded by a Florida couple, John and Alice Martin, who overheard a conversation between Rep. Gingrich and top Republicans, on their police scanner inside their car. After listening to the conversation for several minutes they decided to record it, at first for posterity's sake and after listening further decided that it might be important for the Ethics Committee to hear. [5]
It was at that time that they delivered the tape to McDermott, the senior Democrat on the committee at that time, and who was in town for a swearing-in ceremony.
Shortly afterward, Congressman McDermott leaked the tape to several media outlets, including the New York Times. Rep. John Boehner, who was part of the Gingrich conversation, sued McDermott for illegally leaking the tape; U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan concluded that McDermott was behind the leak and ordered him to pay Boehner for "willfull and knowing misconduct" that "rises to the level of malice".
McDermott challenged that ruling in a federal appeals court. But on March 29, 2006, the court ruled 2-1 that McDermott violated federal law when he turned over the illegally recorded tape to the New York Times and other media outlets. The court then ordered McDermott to pay for Boehner's legal costs (over $600,000) as well as $60K in damages. McDermott had argued that since he was not the one involved in the recording, "his actions were allowed under the First Amendment, and said a ruling against him would have "a huge chilling effect" on reporters and newsmakers alike. Lawyers for 18 news organizations — including ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, The Associated Press, The New York Times and The Washington Post — filed a brief backing McDermott. [6]
On June 26, 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the earlier judgement, and decided to re-hear the case with all nine judges in September. [7] However, that decision also went against McDermott.[citation needed]
On December 11, 2006, a report released by the House Ethics committee concluded that McDermott "violated ethics rules by giving reporters access to an illegally taped telephone call involving Republican leaders a decade ago." [8]. The report stated, "Rep. McDermott's secretive disclosures to the news media ... risked undermining the ethics process regarding" former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the committee said. It said McDermott's actions "were not consistent with the spirit of the committee." [9]
On July 6, 2007, McDermott announced he would ask the Supreme Court to review the appeals court decision in favor of Boehner. [10] On December 3, 2007, the Supreme Court declined his request for review, so the decision of the appeals court stands. [11]
Good question.....
The MSM was outraged that this recorded phone conversation couldn’t be used to oust Gingrich in 1996.
The illegal telephone conversation was recorded by a Florida couple, John and Alice Martin, who overheard a conversation between Rep. Gingrich and top Republicans, on their police scanner inside their car. After listening to the conversation for several minutes they decided to record it, at first for posterity's sake and after listening further decided that it might be important for the Ethics Committee to hear. [5]The telephone conversation was not illegal. (That wording actually makes it sound like Newt and Boehner were the ones breaking the law.) The first sentence of that paragraph should have been worded "The telephone conversation was recorded illegally by a Florida couple, John and Alice Martin, ...."
If you read the First paragraph that starts this under the heading, you find this:
While that already makes plain of the nature of the felony, I agree that your crafting of the sentence is more reflective of the facts of the case. Log into Wiki and change it.
bingo
For McDermott...this is a major financial issue. He had to pay off his lawyer handling the affair...which I will guess that they have to cut half of the expenses because McDermott just doesn’t have the money. As for the $850-odd thousand? I don’t believe McDermott is that deeply rich. He will have to sell stock and pay taxes on that...which adds to the misery of this entire experience. I’m guessing he had some real estate holdings...and is attempting to dump those on the market (at the wrong time), and will lose cash there too. The true cost...by the time you come to the end of this episode for McDermott...is probably over $1.5 million (my humble guess).
I don’t feel sorry for the guy...he certainly asked for every bit of the situation and appears to be very dim on law and American justice. For alot of political players out there...on both sides of the coin...I hope the lesson is taken to heart. You might have to pay for your stupidity one day...and its more than just resigning from a position.
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