Senate to open impeachment trial against judge accused of lying under oath and taking payoffs

By Ben Evans, AP
Monday, September 13, 2010

Senate to open impeachment trial against judge

WASHINGTON — The Senate is set to open its first impeachment trial since the 1999 case against former President Bill Clinton when it takes up a host of corruption allegations Monday against a Louisiana judge.

The House voted unanimously in March to impeach U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous, charging him with taking payoffs and lying under oath. A two-thirds vote will be needed to convict him in the Senate.

Senators on a special impeachment panel appear ready to resolve the case quickly, scheduling three all-day hearings over the next two weeks in which House prosecutors will make their case and Porteous can mount a defense.

If convicted, Porteous, who was nominated by Clinton, would be the eighth federal judge in U.S. history to be impeached and removed from the bench.

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