[pillut48]

"Ohio Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt, who called Democratic Rep. John Murtha a coward,"

Isn't this libel? I was watching that incident live and she never came out and said, "John Murtha, you are a coward" though the Marine's quote implied as much--did she actually call him a coward at another time, and I just missed it?

[ConservativeMind]

Libel rules are different for public people.

That's how Pelosi can others can publicly call Bush "stupid".

[IrishRainy]

I don't think she actually accused him of that. She read a message she got from a constitutent who was in the military and quoted HIM as saying that.

Nazi Pelosi has said much worse about a sitting president and yet that parenthetical phrase is never used about HER.

[WOSG]

What's libel?
What she said about Murtha (true)
or what the press said about her (false)?

If libel was a crime, we could get convictions of NYTimes, WashPost, AP, CNN, ABCNBCCCBS on RICO charges related to committing libel against the GOP and Bush on a massive scale.

[Just A Nobody]

No - she NEVER called him a coward.
______________________________________________________________________________

MR. RUSSERT: As you know, the response on the House floor was extraordinary. Congresswoman Jean Schmidt of Ohio said that she had talked to a state representative in Ohio, also a former Marine, and she relayed the following message. Let's watch.

(Videotape, November 18, 2005):

REP. JEAN SCHMIDT, (R-OH): He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do. Danny and the rest of America and the world want the assurance from this body...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10042399/