House task force calls for impeaching Louisiana judge over pattern of misconduct

more images

more images

House panel recommends impeaching Louisiana judge

WASHINGTON — A House task force recommended unanimously Thursday that Congress impeach a federal judge from Louisiana, accusing him of improperly taking cash and gifts and lying during his Senate confirmation.

U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous would face four articles of impeachment if the full House accepts the recommendation, which states that he “engaged in a pattern of conduct that is incompatible with the trust and confidence placed in him as a federal judge.” The task force accused him of “high crimes and misdemeanors” that go back decades.

Among the charges is the allegation that Porteous took cash, gifts and other services from lawyers and a bail bondsman with business before his court. He is also accused of lying during his Senate confirmation process and in a personal bankruptcy filing.

If the House proceeds with the charges and Porteous is found guilty in the Senate, he would become just the eighth federal judge in U.S. history to be impeached and convicted by Congress.

The House needs a simple majority to approve impeachment; the Senate needs a two-thirds vote to convict.

Much of the evidence against Porteous was uncovered during an FBI investigation of state judges in Jefferson Parish, where Porteous served before winning his federal post in 1994. That six-year investigation brought 14 convictions.

Porteous, who sits in the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans, was never charged, but he has been suspended over the allegations of misconduct.

He offered little in his defense during a series of hearings before the House panel. His defense attorney has acknowledged that Porteous may have shown poor judgment but argues it doesn’t warrant impeachment.

Porteous was appointed by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, but the impeachment case so far has not been partisan, with Democrats leading the effort.

“That’s probably the best thing I can say about this judge is that he brought us together in a spirit of bipartisanship,” Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., said after the vote.