Remember that GOP conference call, back in 1996 run by, among other people Newt Gingrich? Remember how it had been given to the Democrats and suddenly ended up on the air?
Seattle, Wa- KNDO [1] WASHINGTON A House ethics panel says Congressman Jim McDermott of Seattle violated rules by giving reporters an illegally taped phone call.
In a report released after Congress adjourned, the ethics panel says McDermott failed to meet his obligations as a committee leader. The committee took no further action.The ethics complaint involves a 1966 cell phone call recorded by a Florida couple who gave the recording to McDermott. On the call, the Speaker Newt Gingrich is heard talking with other Republicans about a separate ethics investigation of Gingrich.McDermott leaked the tape to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The New York Times, which published stories on the case in January of 1997.
Gingrich was later fined 300-thousand dollars and reprimanded by the House.
Trouble was, we found out later that the ethics committee realized Newt was innocent of any wrongdoing. Newt never did get his money back, of course. Nor did he get an apology of Democrats. McDermott, meantime, managed to hold onto his office, to among other things, sign onto a bill offered by full-goose moonbat Cynthia “Get Whitey” McKinney, which attempted to impeach the President.
Apparently, someone was hoping that this whole thing would just go away. And I suppose a ten years late ruling which doesn’t remove McDermott from office could be qualified as doing that.
We still haven’t gotten a ruling out of the FCC on the whole deal. … Ummm…. For those of you not familiar with the FCC regulations on the matter, they essentially point out that it is illegal for you to tell your wife what your mother- in- law just said on the phone. Now, you and I both know that if Newt had been responsible for taping a meeting of Democrats by means of monitoring phone calls, the FCC would be using it’s full power to bring federal charges, and making them stick. But these are Democrats… and the commission knows who butters it’s bread… so no charges were ever filed.
Now, mind you, this committee, is the same one that jumped all over the Mark Foley issue, yet took ten years to cough up a ruling with regards to Mr. McDermott and his nonsense.
By the way, McDermott was sued by John Boehner, who was one of the people on that tape… and Boener won… but the case is of course being appealed.
It seems clear that the ethics of Mr. McDermott are at least questionable. But such is life, with the Democrats.
Welcome my friends to the world of government with Democrats in charge.