I'm convinced Murtha is trying to give himself cover for ethics charges. He'll claim the charges are just political attacks.
I agree 100%
I'm certain that's where this started, but I think he's gone beyond that now. IMHO he thinks he's now immunized against any charges and he's beginning to believe his own press notices. He thinks he's important, a major player, witness the announcment of his run for majority leader.
Watch for the long knives to come out for him soon. Quietly the people he's now treading on, those with real power and the ability to wield it, like Steny Hoyer, will slip information to their stable of friendly reporters (they each have some) and you'll start to see "the Murtha machine" coming apart. It will be interesting to watch where the attacks come from and try to work backwards to who is planting the information.
Murtha is Unbelievably Clintonesque!!