Senate Removes Judge Thomas Porteous Jr. Following Impeachment Trial
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/12/08/senate-impeaches-judge-thomas-porteous-removes-him-from-office/
The Senate found U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. guilty on four articles of impeachment Wednesday, removing him from his lifetime appointment to the federal bench in Louisiana and denying him his federal pension. Porteous, 63, sat in the well of the Senate as members cast their votes against him. He is just the eighth judge in American history to be removed from office by the Senate.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Impeachment Committee, said that he hoped the decision would help Porteous to make changes in his life, for his own good and that of his family.
"I feel sorry for Judge Porteous. To rise to the dignified position of a federal district judge and then have this happen after 30 years of service I'm sure is an absolute pain, problem and damage to his reputation," Hatch said after the votes. "But the Senate has ruled properly in this matter and the impeachment should be upheld."
In March, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to impeach Porteous on charges of lying and corruption. The Senate then formed a formal impeachment committee, which held more than 40 hours of hearings into the matter.
During the Senate's day-long impeachment trial Tuesday, senators heard from House members who acted as prosecuting attorneys, presenting evidence that Porteous had taken bribes from local attorneys and businessmen with cases before his court over the course of several decades. Attorneys said Porteous then lied about his conduct to the FBI and the Senate Judiciary Committee to ease his confirmation proceedings to become a federal judge. He was also accused of filing for bankruptcy under a false name.
In response, Porteous' lawyers, led by George Washington University Law professor Johnathan Turley, argued that while the judge may have made mistakes, they did not rise to the level of "high crimes and misdemeanors" -- the standard for warranting impeachment. They also said their client was no "grotesque character" and explained that he only filed for bankruptcy under a false name to avoid the embarrassment of public disclosure of his financial problems.
Porteous' defense swayed few senators, however. The Senate voted overwhelmingly to convict him of all four articles of impeachment and then approved on a motion to bar Porteous from holding federal office again in the future.
After the votes, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a former prosecutor and the chair of the impeachment committee, thanked her fellow senators for participating in the trial. "I am very proud to be a senator today. There are days when that's not as easy to say," she said. "There are times when this place is pretty dysfunctional, but I'm proud of how we conducted ourselves during this very important and grave proceeding."
The Senate found U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. guilty on four articles of impeachment Wednesday, removing him from his lifetime appointment to the federal bench in Louisiana and denying him his federal pension. Porteous, 63, sat in the well of the Senate as members cast their votes against him. He is just the eighth judge in American history to be removed from office by the Senate.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Impeachment Committee, said that he hoped the decision would help Porteous to make changes in his life, for his own good and that of his family.
"I feel sorry for Judge Porteous. To rise to the dignified position of a federal district judge and then have this happen after 30 years of service I'm sure is an absolute pain, problem and damage to his reputation," Hatch said after the votes. "But the Senate has ruled properly in this matter and the impeachment should be upheld."
In March, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to impeach Porteous on charges of lying and corruption. The Senate then formed a formal impeachment committee, which held more than 40 hours of hearings into the matter.
During the Senate's day-long impeachment trial Tuesday, senators heard from House members who acted as prosecuting attorneys, presenting evidence that Porteous had taken bribes from local attorneys and businessmen with cases before his court over the course of several decades. Attorneys said Porteous then lied about his conduct to the FBI and the Senate Judiciary Committee to ease his confirmation proceedings to become a federal judge. He was also accused of filing for bankruptcy under a false name.
In response, Porteous' lawyers, led by George Washington University Law professor Johnathan Turley, argued that while the judge may have made mistakes, they did not rise to the level of "high crimes and misdemeanors" -- the standard for warranting impeachment. They also said their client was no "grotesque character" and explained that he only filed for bankruptcy under a false name to avoid the embarrassment of public disclosure of his financial problems.
Porteous' defense swayed few senators, however. The Senate voted overwhelmingly to convict him of all four articles of impeachment and then approved on a motion to bar Porteous from holding federal office again in the future.
After the votes, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a former prosecutor and the chair of the impeachment committee, thanked her fellow senators for participating in the trial. "I am very proud to be a senator today. There are days when that's not as easy to say," she said. "There are times when this place is pretty dysfunctional, but I'm proud of how we conducted ourselves during this very important and grave proceeding."