Will the FBI sting operation in 1980, ABSCAM, come to haunt John Murtha on his ethics? Will it hurt his chances on being the number 2 Democrat in the Senate? Or is this all just water under the bridge now?
John Murtha's involvement
Congressman John Murtha (D-PA) was not indicted or prosecuted. The FBI videotaped Murtha as saying, "I'm not interested...at this point. [If] we do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested, maybe I won't." to $50,000 cash right after Murtha had offered to provide names of businesses and banks in his district where money could be legally invested.[6] Links to the actual videos of his involvement can be found at the following two links (Warning NSFW, Strong Language) [7] and [8]
In November 1980, the Justice Department announced that Murtha would not face prosecution for his part in the scandal. In July 1981, the House ethics committee also chose not to file charges against Congressman Murtha, following a mostly party line vote, after which E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr., the panel's special counsel, abruptly resigned in protest. House ethics rules require members to immediately report any bribe offers to the FBI.
In 2002, one of the panel members, Rep. Don Bailey (who lost to Murtha in a primary challenge in 1982) released a public letter stating "I was, to be honest, critical about how you misled me about Abscam where you convinced me you had voluntarily told federal agents about the offer of money to you," Bailey wrote Murtha. "I learned later, after I had successfully defeated the ethics charges against you, that you had merely manipulated the system to cooperate with federal agents to avoid prosecution," Bailey added.[9]
Source: Murtha Lashes Out at Dem Leadership Opponent
Full Abscam Video part 1
Full Abscam Video Part 2
Report of John Murtha
Murtha Fights Back
Source: FBI sting operation: ABSCAM
John Murtha's involvement
Congressman John Murtha (D-PA) was not indicted or prosecuted. The FBI videotaped Murtha as saying, "I'm not interested...at this point. [If] we do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested, maybe I won't." to $50,000 cash right after Murtha had offered to provide names of businesses and banks in his district where money could be legally invested.[6] Links to the actual videos of his involvement can be found at the following two links (Warning NSFW, Strong Language) [7] and [8]
In November 1980, the Justice Department announced that Murtha would not face prosecution for his part in the scandal. In July 1981, the House ethics committee also chose not to file charges against Congressman Murtha, following a mostly party line vote, after which E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr., the panel's special counsel, abruptly resigned in protest. House ethics rules require members to immediately report any bribe offers to the FBI.
In 2002, one of the panel members, Rep. Don Bailey (who lost to Murtha in a primary challenge in 1982) released a public letter stating "I was, to be honest, critical about how you misled me about Abscam where you convinced me you had voluntarily told federal agents about the offer of money to you," Bailey wrote Murtha. "I learned later, after I had successfully defeated the ethics charges against you, that you had merely manipulated the system to cooperate with federal agents to avoid prosecution," Bailey added.[9]
Source: Murtha Lashes Out at Dem Leadership Opponent
Full Abscam Video part 1
Full Abscam Video Part 2
Report of John Murtha
Murtha Fights Back
Source: FBI sting operation: ABSCAM
Last edited by Harmor (2006-11-14 16:02:13)