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McDermott first up for ethics panel
THE WASHINGTON TIMES ^ | May 16, 2005 | James G. Lakely

Posted on 05/16/2005 1:22:56 AM PDT by kingattax

When the partisan impasse over rules and procedures on the House ethics committee ends, the first member to face the panel won't be House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, but rather Democrat Jim McDermott of Washington.

The Seattle-area congressman, one of the most vocal critics of Republicans, has been under investigation by the panel since last year over his role nearly nine years ago in the illegal taping and distribution of a phone conversation involving then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

A federal court already has determined, for a civil lawsuit against Mr. McDermott, that the liberal lawmaker illegally distributed the tape, a judgment of the sort that usually prompts the House to take some action.

Sources close to the committee said the McDermott case was on the agenda for the panel's organizational meeting two weeks ago, but it was removed when it was clear that Democrats wouldn't vote to continue the investigation, as required by committee rules.

"He's headed for a bad end," said one source last week, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "As a general proposition, the easiest cases for the ethics committee to handle is one where the courts have made a decision."

Democrats have paralyzed the evenly split committee, where bipartisan cooperation is needed for every action, citing unfair rules changes and staffing decisions. But another source close to the committee said the Democrats can't delay action for much longer, because Republicans relented last month to Democrats' demands that they repeal the 2004 set of rules changes

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 109th; alreadyposted; baghdadjim; ethicscommittee; jamesglakely; repeat; trysearch

1 posted on 05/16/2005 1:22:56 AM PDT by kingattax
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To: kingattax

Mcdermouth is a piece of sh$!,He is a Commie!


2 posted on 05/16/2005 1:41:06 AM PDT by noutopia (Home of the brave,not the spineless.)
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To: kingattax

Frankly, I would prefer Dueling, rather than the "ethics" committee...

We all know politicans are unethical...
But if dueling was still legal, perhaps they would be a lot more careful with their lying lips....

Semper Fi


3 posted on 05/16/2005 1:45:30 AM PDT by river rat (You may turn the other cheek, but I prefer to look into my enemy's vacant dead eyes.)
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To: kingattax

Wow, just imagine "Bagdad" Jim being dragged out of his spider hole in D.C., given a cursory exam for fleas, lice, ticks, etc. and checking out his teeth as well before being jailed, while he awaits trial.


4 posted on 05/16/2005 1:45:44 AM PDT by zerosix
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To: kingattax
......Democrats can't delay action for much longer, because Republicans relented last month to Democrats' demands that they repeal the 2004 set of rules changes.....

Give me a break, and let me buy a vowel. How often do Dem's abide by compromises in Congress?

5 posted on 05/16/2005 3:27:07 AM PDT by jimtorr
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To: zerosix

I would still like to know how they just happened to find 2
Democrats in Florida that just happened to hear the conversations. I think the phones or vehicle had listening devices planted somewhere. We were in an era of certain people hiring scumbag private detectives back then. No way was it just a fluke.


6 posted on 05/16/2005 4:04:14 AM PDT by oldironsides
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To: kingattax

Gee, Baghdad Jim's dealings with Shakir al-Khafaji are of no interest to them?


7 posted on 05/16/2005 4:06:18 AM PDT by mewzilla
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To: kingattax

Ahhhh! The first of the glass house inhabitants who were throwing stones at DeLay. Is Princess Pelosi next?


8 posted on 05/16/2005 4:12:07 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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To: nuke rocketeer

Where was the ethics Committee when Ted murdered Mary Jo.
Where was the ethics committee when John Kerry kept receiving his paycheck and not showing up for work?


9 posted on 05/16/2005 4:21:12 AM PDT by sgtbono2002
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To: oldironsides
I would still like to know how .....

The idiots made no secret of their activities.

IIRC, it was an activist Demorat couple that had a scanner and a tape recorder, and cruised around monitoring cell calls for a cheap thrill.
In those days the cellphone system was mostly analog, and scanners could pick them up with no trouble.

They gave the tape to McDermott, who then made it public.
The idiots were so consumed with their hate for Republicans, they did not stop to think about privacy laws.
I do not know if they were ever prosecuted, as they should have been, along with McDermott
10 posted on 05/16/2005 4:28:09 AM PDT by AlexW (Reporting from Bratislava)
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To: oldironsides

The Martins! Yeaaa!

One of the funniest eras ever on Rush's show...he'll be all over this today. What was it they were driving? A little green Gremlin? LOL!


11 posted on 05/16/2005 4:34:57 AM PDT by Timeout (Dean & the Bike Path Left: aging anti-warriors who use "summer" as a verb~~Jonah)
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To: kingattax

I wonder where all the people that said House Republicans caved over Delay are now? There is a reason the Democrats have blocked progress, Delay and Reps called their bluff.

McDermott has rightly earned the first investigation.


12 posted on 05/16/2005 4:56:17 AM PDT by Soul Seeker
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To: oldironsides

bookmk ping


13 posted on 05/16/2005 5:08:45 AM PDT by Dad yer funny
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To: oldironsides
I'm with you on that one. Regular scanners are manufactured in such a way that they can't pick up cell-phone frequencies. You have to open them up and remove a certain diode (they were that way in the 90's but I'm sure they must have fixed it by now) to scan cell frequencies.

The fact that they just happened to be in their vehicle in a parking lot (which was probably within sight of a cell-phone tower) and pick up just the right conversation from many would be an incredible coincidence.

The odds against that would be astronomical. Just as it is with icebergs, we're only seeing a small portion of what was actually there.

14 posted on 05/16/2005 6:42:17 AM PDT by capt. norm (Rap is to music what the Etch-A-Sketch is to art.)
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