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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The wife of the late congressman John Murtha is being urged to run for the House seat that he held for nearly four decades, a newspaper reported Friday. "While people have been mindful that this is a difficult time for the family, many have called to suggest Joyce as the perfect person to hold her husband's seat," Murtha spokesman Matthew Mazonkey told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Published on CREW's Most Corrupt Members of Congress (http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org) Murtha Acknowledges He Is Subject of Ethics Inquiry By Paul Singer, Roll CallNovember 1, 2009After years of allegations that he improperly lavishes federal dollars on local supporters and campaign donors, Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Chairman John Murtha (D-Pa.) acknowledged for the first time last week that ethics investigators are looking into his earmarks.After the Washington Post disclosed a leaked list of Members being investigated by the House ethics committee, formally known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, and the Office of Congressional Ethics — including seven members of...

Rep. John Murtha on Thursday said he is open to raising taxes if President Barack Obama decides to send more troops to Afghanistan. “This is an expensive proposition,” Murtha (D-Pa.) told The Hill. “If we send more troops over, how are we going to pay for them? We should raise taxes.” In a subsequent interview on Thursday, Murtha said he is not recommending raising taxes, but stressed it should be considered. Murtha’s comments are significant. As chairman of the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee, he controls the purse strings for any troop surge in Afghanistan. Murtha wants an honest accounting of...

The Washington Post reported over the weekend on the ongoing federal investigation into defense earmarks, saying that it was “increasingly focused on a former top aide to Rep. Peter J. Visclosky (D-Ind.) who worked with the congressman on funding requests from clients of a powerful lobbying firm, according to two sources familiar with the probe.” The story said that the aide, Charles E. Brimmer, Visclosky’s former longtime chief of staff, may have “suggested to some lobbyists that companies seeking Visclosky’s help in getting Pentagon funds would need to commit to a program of donations to the member of the...

GOP Sets Sights on House Power Brokers for 2010Strategists Portray Races as Signs of Democratic Weakness By David Weigel October 16, 2009 Reps. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), David Obey (D-Wis.) and John Murtha (D-Pa.) are among the congressional Democrats facing 2010 challenges. (house.gov) ..Snip.. ...Murtha’s southwestern Pennsylvania district, however, was the only one in America that voted for the Kerry-Edwards ticket in 2004 and McCain-Palin in 2008 — narrowly, both times. In 2008, Bill Russell ran against Murtha, raised more than $3 million, and briefly garnered national attention after Murtha said his district might reject Obama because it was a “racist...

Boehm Says Prosecutors Will ‘Get to Murtha’By Peter Flaherty 07/17/2009 In the wake of the indictment of Richard Ianieri of Coherent Systems International, for whom Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) secured earmarks, NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm has offered some thoughts. From OneNewsNow yesterday [1]: "These are crummy little firms. Many of them are located in Murtha's district. That's part of the game," he explains. "But if they have anything substantial to do, they sub it out to some real company and keep a big chunk for themselves. And out of that chunk they pay the political contributions that go hand-in-hand with...

Obama Says Gitmo Detainees To Be Transferred to Rep. Murtha’s BasementMay 22, 2009WASHINGTON - President Obama said that the prison at Guantanamo Bay will be closed despite the Senate’s refusal to provide funding to do it, and that ”money will not be an issue.” The President announced that Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania will house the first wave of relocated Guantanamo detainees in the spacious and well-appointed basement of his Johnstown residence. Last January, Murtha, an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, said that he would house the detainees in his district. “Sure, I’d take ‘em. They’re no more dangerous...

Megadollar by megadollar, pressure keeps mounting for a House ethics investigation into the cycling of rich Pentagon contracts and campaign contributions through the appropriations empire ruled by Representative John Murtha. The latest disturbing tale is about Mr. Murtha’s nephew, Robert, whose defense subcontracting business lately has been winning millions of dollars a year in no-bid Pentagon contracts. The nephew insists “good work,” not Uncle John, is the key to his success. But e-mails obtained by The Washington Post show the nephew touting family clout. One message advises a partner that a condition for “keeping funds flowing” mandates that part of...

Murtha and Kuchera Industries: Follow the Money As I posted yesterday, The FBI raided a Pennsylvania defense contractor with strong ties to our very own Jihad Jack Murtha. What I didn't know was just how entwined our porcine earmark king was with the bigwigs at Kuchera Defense Systems: Over the last several years, Murtha, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, has helped steer more than $100 million in contracts to Kuchera, a government contractor founded in 1985 by Bill Kuchera. The company and its employees have donated more than $65,000 dollars to Murtha’s re-election campaign and leadership PAC, according to Federal Election...

Published on Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (http://www.citizensforethics.org) CREW RELEASES 2008 MOST EMBARRASSING RE-ELECTED MEMBERS OF CONGRESS December 8, 2008Contact: Naomi Seligman // 202.408.55658 Dec 2008 // Washington, D.C. – Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released its 2008 Most Embarrassing Re-Elected Members of Congress. The list incorporates those elected officials who have misused their position through illegal, unethical or just plain outrageous conduct.Members are not ranked, but rather listed in alphabetical order. The list includes:....snip....Rep. John Murtha (D-PA)....snip.... Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA) is an 18th-term member of Congress, representing Pennsylvania’s 12th congressional...

Murtha: Fund diplomacy, not AFRICOM By Steve Mraz, Stars and StripesMideast edition, Saturday, November 29, 2008 Steve Mraz / S&S Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., left, talks with U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander Gen. Roger Brady at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center on Thursday. Steve Mraz / S&S Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., center, enjoys Thanksgiving dinner at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center with Navy Cmdr. Fred Lindsay, on Murtha's left, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Margaret Hill, on Murtha's right. Near the far end of the table is Landstuhl commander Army Col. Brian Lein. Also at the table were U.S. Army...

JOHNSTOWN (10.28.08): Former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) is appearing in a new :60 radio spot that begins airing throughout the 12th Congressional District today. The following is Senator Thompson’s portion of the just released commercial: “This is Fred Thompson. Whether it’s condemning Marines or insulting his own constituents, John Murtha has apparently forgotten who he works for. This year folks in the 12th District have a choice. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Bill Russell will be a strong, outspoken voice for families, fiscal responsibility and our values. Bill Russell will serve in Congress with honor as he served his country before.”

The anti-incumbent tide is so strong this electoral season it just might sweep out one of the most powerful bulls from the House of Representatives. Residents in Pennsylvania's 12 District have tolerated much controversy from Rep. John Murtha (Pa.) but his recent remarks about some Pennsylvanians being "racist" could end his 34-year Washington career. Murtha’s recent accusation that some voters in his state are “racist” has given his Republican opponent William Russell, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, some much-needed ammunition to unseat the incumbent. “There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area,” Murtha told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette....

It's been an unusual alliance from the beginning and now Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), in trouble in his race to keep his seat, is appealing to his old friends at MoveOn to come to his rescue. The relatively conservative Murtha became a hero to MoveOn members when he came out early against the war. His military background and previous support of the war made his opposition significant. The letter asking for campaign cash doesn't mention what, exactly, got him into the trouble he's in, but refers instead to "swiftboating" and "the right-wing attack machine." "This is a real emergency—with just...

Taking Murtha Down?by Ashley E. Herzog (more by this author) Posted 10/29/2008 ET After Democratic Congressman John Murtha’s controversial comments about his southwestern Pennsylvania District -- in which he called the voters “racists” and “rednecks” -- his Republican opponent, William Russell, has been gaining ground in the race. Voters are beginning to realize that the longtime congressman does not share their values, says Russell. “What Mr. Murtha did was attribute the lowest possible motivations to our voters,” he says. “The people in this area tend to vote their values. To say that they are simply racist because they won’t...

'Rednecks' cracks may cost MurthaBy: Josh Kraushaar October 26, 2008 09:40 PM EST Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), is in an unexpectedly tight race for an 18th term after effectively calling the constituents of his Southwestern Pennsylvania district racists and rednecks. Earlier this month, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s editorial board that “There’s no question Western Pennsylvania is a racist area” in response to a question about Barack Obama’s prospects in his district. A week after apologizing, he told a local Pittsburgh TV station that “this whole area, years ago, was really redneck.” Both comments were captured on videotape, and...

Video's from Murtha's visit to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. His opinoin on race, the polls and he stands by his earlier statements on Haditha.

Former Marine lance corporal, Justin Sharratt, files suit against Congressman John MurthaSecond defamation suit to be filed by a Marine who Murtha said "murdered innocent civilians in cold-blood". Sharratt is a constituent of Murtha in Pennsylvania's 12th District. Press conferences tomorrow. Developing. Story to follow.

Republican Rep. Terry Everett of Alabama unleashed an unusually harsh attack on a House colleague, calling decorated Vietnam War veteran John Murtha, D-Pa., a cut-and-run idiot. "Don't talk to me about defense," Everett, who is retiring at the end of this term, said during a radio interview this week. "Cut-and-run John Murtha is in charge of the appropriations committee for defense and he is certainly no friend of the military.

The Murtha Rules: A simple system to win federal money By Ken Silverstein and Sebastian Jones Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania has long been one of the biggest porkbarrelers in Congress, and as the chairman of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee he is also one of the biggest recipients of lobbyists’ campaign donations. Which is no coincidence. When the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged that porkbarreling would be severely curtailed. But that hasn’t come to pass–no surprise given that old-time hacks like Murtha hold such powerful positions on the Appropriations committees. Murtha basically...