Senate convicts La. judge on impeachment charges

Source: The Associated Press

Senate convicts La. judge on impeachment charges
(AP) – 34 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has voted unanimously to convict U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous of Louisiana on the first of four impeachment charges, removing him from the federal bench.

The decision makes Porteous just the eighth federal judge in U.S. history to be impeached and convicted by Congress.

The Senate is still voting on three additional articles of impeachment approved by the House earlier this year.

House prosecutors say the 63-year-old judge had a gambling problem and began accepting cash and other favors from people with business before his court. He also was accused of lying to Congress and filing for bankruptcy under a false name.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hXgtZNV-MTTNnpli8WZV57jM26AQ?docId=8ba2ad4f062e4e0cad259c95d30373e1

From what I have been told Porteous was just doing bidness as usual for La.

That should set the judges and justices to twittering.

state, pro right to choose, etc. Wish some of the rightwingers would get removed instead.

that is so swiftly reestablishing itself as the norm for law enforcement and prosecutorial corruption after it was briefly and mildly beaten back in the 1960s and 70s.

It's back in full force throughout the Old Confederacy and will be shortly spreading to the entire Confederate States of America, all 51 states including Iraq.

Only Damned Yankee Lib'rul judges are subjected to KKK Law Enforcement in the Southern part of the modern and current Confederate States of America.

I knew that just before I had even clicked on the link. Totalitarian Nations are so predictable.

I can think of a couple judges who could use an impeachment...

On the 2nd impeachment article (part of HR 1031) "engag in a longstanding pattern of corrupt conduct," both California senators voted Guilty, in Massachusetts John Kerry voted Guilty while Scott Brown voted Not Guilty, and among the 27 "Not Guilty" votes 17 were Republicans, 10 were Democrats; among the 69 Guilty votes 46 were Democrats 23 were Republicans. On Article III, on lying about the bankruptcy, there were just 8 not guilty votes, 5 D, 2 R, and 1 independent (Lieberman). Article IV, about the false statements to gain judgeship: 6 NG votes, all Democrats. Explusion of Porteous from any federal office: 2 NG's, Lieberman and Bingaman (D-NM).

Sam Brownback, Chris Dodd, Mark Kirk, and Blanche Lincoln all did not vote on any of the articles of impeachement. Wonder why. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) voted guilty only on Article IV. Al Franken voted guilty only on the third. Lieberman and Reid voted guilty only on the first article, which was unanimously passed. Orrin Hatch voted guilty only on I and IV. And why did a bunch of Republicans vote not guilty on II? I guess that they must've come to different conclusions on Porteous's wrongdoings. The two Louisiana senators, Mary Landrieu and David Vitter, voted on every impeachment article and the disqualification resolution.

And I wonder why Chris Coons got to become Senator in November; I thought that the newly elected Congress members started in January 2011. How do the new Congress members get to be sworn in before November?

Now, when will Jay Bybee (the GWB-nommed federal judge and author of the torture defence memos) get into any trouble?

When Biden became VP, the seat was filled temporarily by Ted Kaufman until the next regular election for that Senate seat. So the reason he is seated immediately is because he is filling an existing term (and he will have to face re-election in 4 years, not 6).

That's why he was sworn in immediately too.