Murtha was a unindicted coconspirator in Abscam

red states rule

Senior Member
May 30, 2006
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My how the liberal media ignores facts

I read this is a Robert Novak piece.

John Murtha was one of the crooked Congressmen in the Abscam scandel

You have to look deep in the piece was it is true.

Murtha is now becoming like Cindy "crackpot" Sheenhan - a total nutcase

http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak22.html

New star Murtha is worrying Dems

June 22, 2006

BY ROBERT NOVAK SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

On NBC's ''Meet the Press'' last Sunday, Rep. John Murtha repeated his call for ''redeploying'' U.S. troops from Iraq with something new -- and disturbing to fellow Democrats. Asked by moderator Tim Russert about sites for redeployment, Murtha replied: ''We can go to Okinawa. . . . We can redeploy there almost instantly.''



When Russert expressed doubt about ''a timely response'' from Okinawa to meet a Middle East crisis, the 16-term congressman from western Pennsylvania and new national security spokesman for his party stumbled: ''Well, it -- you know, they -- when I say Okinawa, I, I'm saying troops in Okinawa. When I say a timely response, you know, our fighters can fly from Okinawa very quickly.''

In fact, a Pentagon spokesman says it would take ''under a month'' to prepare and send a 4,500-man Marine Expeditionary Force 6,000 nautical miles from Okinawa to Bahrain and then 600 more miles to Baghdad.

Murtha's Okinawa answer embarrassed Democratic House members who would not dream of criticizing publicly the former back-room pol who became an icon to the party's antiwar base last November by calling for an immediate troop withdrawal. His performance on ''Meet the Press'' reinforced dismay inside the party that Murtha, at age 74, has announced his candidacy for majority leader if the Democrats regain control of the House.

Murtha proves there are second acts in American politics. I had forgotten that federal prosecutors designated him an unindicted co-conspirator in the Abscam investigation 26 years ago. I was reminded of it after Murtha became a candidate for majority leader, not by a Republican hit man but a Democratic former colleague in the House. In a long political career, Murtha has made bitter enemies inside his party who are alarmed by his new stature.

Murtha got into politics in 1968 as a 36-year-old highly decorated Marine and in 1974 became the first Vietnam War veteran elected to Congress. In 1980, the FBI named him as one of eight members of Congress videotaped being offered bribes by a phony Arab sheik.

The other seven targets took cash and were convicted in federal court. The videotape showed Murtha declining to take cash but expressing interest in further negotiations, while bragging about his political influence. Murtha testified against the popular Rep. Frank Thompson, which created lifelong enemies in the Democratic cloakroom. The House Ethics Committee exonerated Murtha of misconduct charges by a largely party-line vote, after which the committee's special counsel resigned in protest.

That salvaged Murtha's political career but limited his public exposure. The current Almanac of American Politics says: ''He speaks for attribution to few national or local reporters, hardly ever appears on television and rarely speaks in the House chamber.'' That reticence has disappeared the last seven months.

Murtha now wears his heroic combat record like a suit of armor. In recent House debate over the Iraq war resolution, Murtha dominated the Democratic side -- compensating for a lack of articulation with vehemence. Rep. Louie Gohmert, a freshman Republican from Texas, had the temerity to suggest that had Murtha ''prevailed after the bloodbaths in Normandy and in the Pacific . . . we would be here speaking Japanese or German.'' Murtha pounced on Gohmert, asking whether he had been a combat soldier. The Republican had not, and he meekly thanked Murtha for ''all that he has done with the wounded.''

Murtha disqualifies adversaries who have not tasted combat, which includes the vast majority in the Congress. He repeats the comparison between civilian officials in ''air-conditioned chambers'' and soldiers carrying ''70 pounds every day facing IEDs.'' On ''Meet the Press,'' Murtha referred to presidential adviser Karl Rove ''sitting in his air conditioned office with his big, fat backside, saying, 'Stay the course!'''

The transfer of Murtha's tough-guy rhetoric from the back row of the hall of the House of Representatives to national television may not be what Democrats want communicating their side of the Iraq debate. It is why Murtha's candidacy for majority leader is cause for concern among serious Democrats.


Plus Rush did this on his radio show. Very telling about Motor Mouth Murtha


RUSH: All right, thanks to the archives at the Cybercast News Service, we have -- and this just runs 13 seconds -- audio of Jack Murtha being offered cash, bribes, during the Abscam sting. He turned this down at first but then says later, "I'm not interested -- at this point." He was an unindicted coconspirator! The only reason I bring this up is because anybody could have gone back and found this. Robert Novak did. Murtha is held up in the Drive-By Media as an angel. He's a god. He's a paragon of virtue. He's infallible! He says, "We should get out of Iraq. We're losing. We can't win!"

Meanwhile, people like Hookstra and Santorum and others are considered kooks. "They still believe this weapons of mass destruction stuff!" So we're just trying to establish for you here that the Drive-By Media and the Democrats will overlook their own conspirators, their own unindicted coconspirators, overlook their own corruption in order to fulfill the notion of their own template. Here is the Abscam-related meeting involving John Murtha showing the rejection of the offered bribe was less than definite.

UNDERCOVER FBI AGENT: I went out and I got this the fifty thousand, okay? From what you're telling me, okay? You're telling me that that's not what you -- you know, that that's not --

MURTHA: I'm not interested. I'm sorry.

UNDERCOVER FBI AGENT: Okay.

MURTHA: At this point.

RUSH: "At this point."

"I'm not interested -- at this point."

So he was "unindicted," but nevertheless a "co-conspirator." That is Jack Murtha, who is being held up, as I say, as a paragon of virtue by the Drive-By Media. He's starting to embarrass the Democratic Party as John Kerry has embarrassed the party.


END TRANSCRIPT
 
I am mearly reporting what Novack and Rush have reported. They did the work.

Of course now the libs have another reason to hate Rush and Novack
 
Murtha has been on so many talk shows and not one "journalist" has asked him about his involvement in ABSCAM

I wonder what the libs have to say about this?

Am I attacking a "war hero"?
 
red states rule said:
Murtha has been on so many talk shows and not one "journalist" has asked him about his involvement in ABSCAM

I wonder what the libs have to say about this?

Am I attacking a "war hero"?

Maybe Murtha should have stuck to "war" instead of going into politics...he was apparently better at it.
 
CSM said:
Maybe Murtha should have stuck to "war" instead of going into politics...he was apparently better at it.


Murtha has stuck to war. He has joined the rest of the libs in their war on Pres Bush
 
Dr Grump said:
More empty rhetoric from the rabid right...

So Grump are you suggesting there is no hypocrisy involved and that fact reporting is "rhetoric"?

If you are than I think I have a new candidate for stupidest fucking poster going.
 
OCA said:
So Grump are you suggesting there is no hypocrisy involved and that fact reporting is "rhetoric"?

If you are than I think I have a new candidate for stupidest fucking poster going.


Remember what Ann Coulter pointed out in "Godless"

Libs use human shields. People you cannt critize no matter how many stupid things they say

If you do - you are a bigot, a racist, a sexist, meanspirited, a chickenhawk, ect,ect,ect

Grump is defending one of those human shields and ignoring his corrupt past
 
Dr Grump said:
More empty rhetoric from the rabid right...
I don't think "The Hill" is rabid right:

http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/061306/news1.html
Hoyer marshals forces
By Josephine Hearn

Allies of Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) rushed to his defense Monday as the minority whip faced a challenge from Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Pa.) for the post of majority leader, should Democrats win control of the House in November.

Murtha wrote colleagues Friday to announce his interest in the position, a move that drew a mixture of surprise and consternation and left Democrats contemplating the prospect of a contentious leadership race as they try to defy the odds and win back the House.

Hoyer’s backers expressed concern that the race would hurt their ability to reach voters on policy issues.

“I regret that we’re going to have this contest,” said Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), a Hoyer supporter. “It will be portrayed in the media as a sign of Democratic disorder. It will distract attention from Democrats’ efforts to win back the House.”

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), another Hoyer backer, echoed those comments.

“This is not the time for an internal battle. Our battle must be to elect Democrats in a minimum of 15 more seats in November. When that happens, Steny Hoyer, who has been a tireless and loyal advocate for the party, will be the right person to serve as our Majority Leader.”

A spokeswoman for Murtha had no comment.

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) praised Hoyer’s work as whip, saying in a statement, “I know Steny Hoyer. He’s a bridge builder, he brings people together, and he works not just for the people of Maryland but for the whole Democratic Caucus.”

A Democratic member who is backing Hoyer said that the whip was surprised by Murtha’s announcement and had been “playing catch-up” all weekend by calling colleagues.

“Steny is a lot more effective for Democrats when he’s making fundraising calls instead of making majority-leader-race calls,” the member said.

Many Democrats were curious what role House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) may have had in Murtha’s decision. Murtha and Pelosi are close allies. Murtha managed her successful 2001 campaign for whip against Hoyer. Earlier this year, he managed the caucus vice-chairmanship campaign of Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), widely seen as Pelosi’s chosen candidate to occupy the fourth-ranking House Democratic leadership post.

Pelosi was instrumental in bringing about Murtha’s November call for redeployment of American troops out of Iraq. Even as she initially distanced herself from his plan, her staff handed out materials at his press events.

A Pelosi spokeswoman said she was “traveling and unavailable for comment” yesterday.

A Democratic official said that Murtha told Pelosi about his ambitions Thursday and that she had neither encouraged nor deterred him from moving forward.
Many members of the caucus remain perplexed by a Hoyer-Murtha match-up. While Murtha has delighted the liberal wing of the party with calls for redeployment, his overall record is conservative. He is a strong supporter of the military, an opponent of abortion rights and a foe of gay-marriage advocates.

He also carries decades-old ethical baggage from the Abscam scandal, a fact that could make Democrats wary of elevating him during a time when they hope to chart the high road on ethics. To make matters worse, he was one of four Democrats who recently voted against the Democrats’ own lobbying and ethics reform package, earning excoriation from The Washington Post’s editorial board.

His lack of involvement in the affairs of the Democratic caucus could also rile members. He rarely attends weekly caucus meetings, several sources said, and has raised only about $500,000 for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) as of late May, despite having assumed a national profile with redeployment calls, his critics charge. Hoyer has raised about $2 million for the committee and its affiliated programs.

The two are about even with their member-dues payments to the DCCC. Murtha has paid $200,000 of $250,000, while Hoyer has forked over $500,000 of $600,000. Members of leadership pay higher dues.

Nonetheless, Murtha’s stature in the caucus as a behind-the-scenes dealmaker is nearly unrivaled and those who discount him often pay dearly. From his perch on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, he is in a prime position to rack up favors from colleagues. And he has quietly run two successful leadership campaigns in recent years.

His background as a decorated Vietnam veteran may also appeal to Democrats eager to build credibility on the war.

Murtha’s candidate in the January vice-chairmanship race vanquished Hoyer’s candidate by roughly the same margin as Pelosi beat Hoyer in 2001, an indication to many that the same calculus that existed five years ago persists. If that is true and Murtha can translate support for Pelosi into support for her campaign manager, then his prospects look good.
 
Isn't the first "co" in "coconspirator" implied by the first "co" in regular old "conspirator"?
 
Ummmmmmm...the premise of the thread is, as usual, a bunch of RSR spewings...

Murtha was an indicted co-conspirator but the government chose not to prosecute. They had him on tape saying "I'm not interested...at this point". Ambiguous at best, particularly considering there was never a trial and he gave testimony against Reps. Murphy and Thompson.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abscam

Aren't y'all the ones always yelling about innocent til proven guilty? Ohhhhh riiiiiiiiiiiight...that goes out the window when it comes to trying to discredit anyone who says what the admin doesn't want them to.

Now...where's Scooter Libby these days? :beer:
 
jillian said:
Ummmmmmm...the premise of the thread is, as usual, a bunch of RSR spewings...

Murtha was an indicted co-conspirator but the government chose not to prosecute. They had him on tape saying "I'm not interested...at this point". Ambiguous at best, particularly considering there was never a trial and he gave testimony against Reps. Murphy and Thompson.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abscam

Aren't y'all the ones always yelling about innocent til proven guilty? Ohhhhh riiiiiiiiiiiight...that goes out the window when it comes to trying to discredit anyone who says what the admin doesn't want them to.

Now...where's Scooter Libby these days? :beer:

Murtha got immunity for his testimony...how convenient for him. I guess it just goes to show that neither the Dems nor the Repubs have captured the moral high ground, that members of both parties are capable of deceit, and that the "culture of corruption" is not restricted to conservatives and/or Republicans.
 
Again, I must strenuously assert the innate redundancy of the word "co-conspirator". Does this mean nothing to you New World Order hooligans?
 
CSM said:
Murtha got immunity for his testimony...how convenient for him. I guess it just goes to show that neither the Dems nor the Repubs have captured the moral high ground, that members of both parties are capable of deceit, and that the "culture of corruption" is not restricted to conservatives and/or Republicans.


The "culture of corruption" crap will not work for the libs.

It did not work in the CA 50th and it will not work in November
 
CSM said:
Murtha got immunity for his testimony...how convenient for him. I guess it just goes to show that neither the Dems nor the Repubs have captured the moral high ground, that members of both parties are capable of deceit, and that the "culture of corruption" is not restricted to conservatives and/or Republicans.

I didn't read anything in that site saying he got immunity, though it might be true. And I agree with the balance of your point, which is why I lose patience with threads like this one. I think there are enough actual policy differences to discuss where things like going after the service record of someone who had the guts to put his life in danger or by trying to discredit them because they knew someone who knew someone who knew someone.... is just silly.
 
jillian said:
I didn't read anything in that site saying he got immunity, though it might be true. And I agree with the balance of your point, which is why I lose patience with threads like this one. I think there are enough actual policy differences to discuss where things like going after the service record of someone who had the guts to put his life in danger or by trying to discredit them because they knew someone who knew someone who knew someone.... is just silly.
True enough, for the most part.

Unfortunately for Kerry, he chose to make a comparison of "war records" an issue and it backfired on him.

Both sides have and will continue to engage in school yard antics trying to discredit each other ("yer a doo-doo head" and "so, yer a bigger doo-doo head"). It really is sad.

True issues really do need ot be debated. The debate, however, to be valid and result in what is best for the country, has to be based on fact, not rhetoric. Twist and spin or outright lies obfuscate the issue so badly that the issue gets unresolved.
 
OCA said:
So Grump are you suggesting there is no hypocrisy involved and that fact reporting is "rhetoric"?

No Zorba, I'm not. First of all, it has to be a fact.

I was actually referring to Rush's "Murtha is held up in the Drive-By Media as an angel. He's a god. He's a paragon of virtue. He's infallible! He says, "We should get out of Iraq. We're losing. We can't win!" comment. That is how neocon's work - build up a false picture on how the media represent somebody, which gives the neocons a feeling of the underdog and therefore some pathetic attempt and being the soothsayers of truth. I have not heard any media calling Murtha a "paragon of virtue", he's "infallible" or "he's a god". As I said, empty rhetoric.

OCA said:
If you are than I think I have a new candidate for stupidest fucking poster going.

I hate picking on typos, but if you're gonna call somebody the stupidest fucking poster, then you better be pretty damn perfect yourself...:dev1:
 
CSM said:
True enough, for the most part.

Unfortunately for Kerry, he chose to make a comparison of "war records" an issue and it backfired on him.

Both sides have and will continue to engage in school yard antics trying to discredit each other ("yer a doo-doo head" and "so, yer a bigger doo-doo head"). It really is sad.

True issues really do need ot be debated. The debate, however, to be valid and result in what is best for the country, has to be based on fact, not rhetoric. Twist and spin or outright lies obfuscate the issue so badly that the issue gets unresolved.


This is our mental reality as constructed by the powers that be. The truth is the elites of the world in business, government, and education are all ganging up on us regular joes unconnected to this machine, but nobody wants to talk about that. I advocate cutting trade with china, now I'm a commie. And so it goes.
 

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