Metropolis Reality Forums - House gives Traficant the boot

Sponsored by: The Fans!

Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register.
Nov 23^rd, 2024, 3:12pm

Upcoming Premiere Dates:
Survivor 23, Season premiere
Thursday, September 14 (8:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT) on CBS

Metropolis Reality Forums Ť House gives Traficant the boot ť

   Metropolis Reality Forums
   Off-Topic Forums
   In the News (Moderators: lakelady, yesteach, MediaScribe, Bumper, Isle_be_back)
   House gives Traficant the boot

Previous topic | New Topic | Next topic »

Pages: 1

Add Poll

Notify of replies

Send Topic

Author

Topic: House gives Traficant the boot (Read 806 times)

Rhune
ForumsNet Administrator

Gender:

Posts: 292

House gives Traficant the boot
« on: Jul 25^th, 2002, 8:17am »

Quote

Modify

House gives Traficant the boot
July 25, 2002 Posted: 5:42 AM EDT (0942 GMT)
http://www.cnn.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Self-proclaimed "regular guy" James Traficant became part of an exclusive club late Wednesday as his colleagues voted to expel him from the House of Representatives.

In a 420-1 vote Wednesday night, Traficant -- who was convicted of federal corruption charges in April -- became only the second House member since the Civil War to be kicked out of Congress.

The nine-term Ohio Democrat has said he is the victim of a vendetta by federal prosecutors. In an impassioned final speech, Traficant declared, "I'll go to jail before I resign and admit to something I didn't do."

The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct recommended last week that he be kicked out of Congress.

"This is the people's house, and we have to do our job," said Ethics Committee member Gene Green, D-Texas. "If we can't remove a member of Congress who has been convicted of 10 felonies -- including using his office for personal gain -- we risk losing the faith and trust of the American people that we have."

CNN NewsPass VIDEO
Maverick Ohio Rep. James Traficant has been officially expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives. CNN's Skip Loescher reports (July 25)

Traficant did not show up for the vote in denim or perform a "Michael Jackson moonwalk," as he had threatened last week. Nor did he at any time utter his trademark exclamation, "Beam me up!"

In a rambling address to his colleagues, Traficant outlined what he said were holes in the government's case against him and lies by prosecution witnesses. He boasted of bringing $1.3 billion in federal money back to his mostly blue-collar Ohio district and of his crusades against the Internal Revenue Service. But he sounded resigned to his eventual expulsion.

"No American should fear their government, and this guy doesn't. I'm ready to go," he said.

The only vote against kicking him out of the House came from outgoing Rep. Gary Condit, D-California, who himself was caught up in a public quagmire after last year's disappearance of former Washington intern Chandra Levy.

The last House member expelled from the House was Rep. Michael Myers, a Pennsylvania Democrat thrown out in 1980 for taking money from undercover FBI agents.

Rep. Steve LaTourette, a friend of Traficant's, had asked the House to put off Traficant's expulsion until after the congressional summer recess. He cited published comments from a juror in Traficant's trial who said he now has doubts about whether Traficant should have been convicted.

"What you're being asked to do tonight is the equivalent -- it is -- the political death penalty. You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube," said LaTourette, R-Ohio. "If he gets a new trial next Tuesday, you can't unexpel him next Wednesday."

The juror, Leo Glaser, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that testimony by former U.S. Aerospace executive Richard Detore before the ethics committee convinced him that the government had a vendetta against Traficant. Detore has been indicted on a related charge and did not testify in Traficant's trial.

But California Rep. Howard Berman, the committee's ranking Democrat, said Detore's comments were an attempt to "save his own neck" in a related trial in Cleveland. And Ethics Committee chairman Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colorado, said there was "clear and convincing evidence" that Traficant was guilty of bribery, obstruction of justice, using congressional staff for personal work and making false statements on income tax returns.

Traficant faces sentencing Tuesday on 10 counts of bribery, tax evasion and racketeering. He is likely to be sentenced to prison, but has said he will run for re-election as an independent from behind bars.

"I'm running, and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm elected from a jail cell because people know I got railroaded back here," he told CNN in an interview Tuesday night.

The maverick Democrat was strongly critical of the Clinton administration and voted with Republicans to make Illinois Rep. Dennis Hastert speaker of the House. As a result, he was kicked out of the House Democratic caucus and stripped of his committee assignments.

Traficant has long complained the government has maintained a vendetta against him since he convinced a jury in 1983 to acquit him of bribery charges. At the time, he was sheriff of Mahoning County, Ohio. After his acquittal, he successfully ran for Congress.

"I'm a son of a truck driver," Traficant told CNN in an interview Tuesday. "Forget this Congress business, I'm a regular guy."

In another development, Traficant was stopped and given a warning early Sunday morning after a officer observed his car weaving on a road in Portage County, Ohio. Traficant was given a roadside coordination test and a Breathalyzer test and was found to be under the legal limit for alcohol consumption, police said.

The patrolman issued Traficant a warning about his driving and sent him on his way, according to Portage County Sheriff Duane Kaley. Asked whether Traficant was "argumentative," Kaley responded, "not particularly," but added that his officer reported the congressman "raised the possibility of the sergeant working with the FBI."

-- CNN.com writer Matt Smith, CNN Correspondent Kate Snow and producers Ted Barrett and George Cooper contributed to this report.

IP Logged

Addams
You Bet Your ASS Team
ForumsNet Member