House Panel Recommends Impeachment of Texas Federal Judge

[babylonsister]

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=cqmidday-000003138332

House Panel Recommends Impeachment of Texas Federal Judge

A special House Judiciary panel Tuesday voted 10-0 to recommend impeachment of a Texas federal judge convicted of obstruction of justice earlier this year for lying about unwanted sexual contact with two of his female employees.

U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent, who has served in the Southern District of Texas since 1990, pleaded guilty in February to one count of obstruction of justice after admitting that he gave false testimony to federal investigators looking into the sexual misconduct complaints. He was sentenced to 33 months in prison in May and is set to begin his sentence on June 15.

The Task Force on Judicial Impeachment approved a draft resolution containing four articles of impeachment for the House to consider. The accusations include Kent’s inappropriate conduct with the employees, Cathy McBroom, a case manager in the clerk’s office, and Donna Wilkerson, Kent’s secretary. They also include Kent’s false statements to federal investigators and his guilty plea for obstruction of justice.

The full Judiciary Committee is expected to consider the impeachment resolution Wednesday.

According to McBroom and Wilkerson, Kent repeatedly initiated unwanted sexual contact from 2001 to 2007. Kent was initially charged with six counts of aggravated sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact and obstruction of justice. In exchange for his plea, the prosecutors agreed to dismiss the five other criminal charges but did not require Kent to submit his resignation.

Last week, Kent submitted a letter of resignation, effective June 2010, which would allow him to retain his salary — $174,000 per year — and benefits while in prison. But Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the impeachment task force, denounced Kent’s “deplorable conduct” and reiterated his desire for a swift impeachment of the judge.

“These acts are a stain on the justice system itself,” Schiff said. “For the House of Representatives to sit idly by and allow Kent while sitting in prison . . . would be a stain on the Congress as well.”

[Gulftrout]

1. Great start to cleaning up TX politics! Now on to State Senator Whitmire...............

Why does a prominent State Senator have a guy on his payroll who’s been arrested for voter fraud?

It’s interesting to note that State Senator John Whitmire (15-Houston) regularly pays a guy named Carl Whitmarsh, who has a history of arrest for voting fraud in Harris County dating all the way back to 1993! The story I heard was Whitmarsh stuffed some ballot boxes during the 1992 elections. The last checks from Whitmire’s campaign account to Whitmarsh were reported in the July 2008 report. We’ll see if he shows up again in this summer’s report. And it appears Whitmarsh is still up to his illegal shenanigans of voter fraud: Whitmarsh gets Whitmire’s paychecks sent to an address off Acorn in Pct. 270, yet Whitmarsh has his voter registration listed in Pct.73 in Garden Oaks. And to top it off, the Texas Democratic Party, various organizations, and county parties actually rely on this guy Whitmarsh to serve as their mouthpiece to get out word on events. The Democratic Party could do better than to rely on this man of questionable character. Who would want to jeopardize their reputations by associating with this guy?

Great news on Judge Kent's impeachment. Now let's work on cleaning up the state legislature!

[sonias]

2. Hearsay?

You said the story you had heard? So you have no direct proof yet you make a pretty sharp accusation of "voter fraud". I'm thinking it's just a matter of time before you get tombstoned on DU.

For some real potential election fraud or at the very least a huge conflict of interest - Ed Johnson from the Harris County Voter Registration Office:

Lone Star Project
KHOU Report: Harris County Voter Registrar a GOP Consultant
Lone Star Project Documents Reveal Johnson Paid by Republican Candidates

See the Video Here

With documents obtained from the Lone Star Project, KHOU (Houston) aired a story last night revealing that Ed Johnson , the assistant director of voter registration for Harris County, is a paid Republican campaign consultant. His company, Campaign Data Systems (CDS), has numerous Harris County Republican candidate as clients, including the Conservative Republicans of Harris County PAC, Senator Dan Patrick, and Congressman Michael McCaul. Republican State Representative Dwayne Bohac (HD 138) is also a principal owner of CDS. Johnson and Bohac are both listed on the Articles of Organization and on the CDS website as a person to contact. It is unacceptable that a county employee with unimpeded access to Voter Registration records, who can grant or deny the ability to vote to an individual, also works as a partisan political consultant.

Johnson Reviews Ballots for Harris County Races
Ed Johnson is a high-level employee in the Harris County voter registration department. In sworn testimony he has been described as, "pretty much the one that does everything." (Deposition of Elizabeth Hernandez. Clerk/Processor)


Ed Johnson and Dwayne Bohac’s company has collected more than $145,000 from Republican State Candidates alone . The Federal Candidate disclosures are harder to search, but CDS received more than $11,000 from Michael McCaul (CD-10) and John Culberson (CD-7). Harris County Candidates use Campaign Data Systems too. Republican Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos paid CDS more than $7,000 last cycle . Many of the people who paid CDS have competed in hotly contested races including Ken Legler (HD-144 in 2008), Martha Wong (HD-134 in 2006), and Talmadge Heflin (HD 149 in 2004) who lost his race by just 33 votes.

More at Lone Star Project above.

KHOU 6/8/2009
Associate voter registrar's second job stirs up controversy

HOUSTON – A lawsuit filed against the Harris County Tax Assessor Collectors Office is stirring up controversy. The lawsuit accuses the office of keeping people from voting in the last general election.

When we cast our vote, it is with a level of trust that it not only matters, but that it will be counted. That’s why allegations of corruption in the voting process in Harris County are so disturbing to some voters.

"This is as blatant a case of election corruption that I have seen,” said Matt Angle of the Lone Star Project, a Democrat activist group.

The Lone Star Project’s complaint revolves around Ed Johnson.

Johnson is the associate voter registrar at the Harris County Tax Assessor Collectors office, but according to state documents, that's just his day job. Johnson is also a paid director of a small company that provides voter data to Republican candidates for office. That company, Campaign Data Systems, billed at least $140,000 in 2008.

Sonia

[Gulftrout]

3. No it's not "hearsay" or an "allegation," Whitmarsh's arrest record is fact

It would be a sad day if I were to get "tombstoned" for speaking the truth. If you don't believe me about Whitmarsh's 1993 arrest record for voter fraud, then give me your fax no. and I can fax it to you. Or better yet, since it's public record, you could have a Houston attorney help you with a Harris County public records search.

The only "speculation" is about the circumstances that led up to his arrest. But the arrest itself is a cold, hard fact.

Pretty scary when such a lack of scepticism and intolerance causes people who disagree with others or can't stand to hear the truth to want them censored!

BTW, great scoop on the Ed Johnson Voter ID scandal!

[Lithos]

4. Question

Was he convicted, yes or no.

[True Sue Blue]

5. Yes, more than once

1983 State Felony for Tampering with a Government Document:

http://www.hcdistrictclerk.com/eDocs/Public/CaseDetails.aspx?CaseNbr=038994201010&CDI=3

1993 State Felony Indictment for Forgery...

http://www.hcdistrictclerk.com/eDocs/Public/CaseDetails.aspx?CaseNbr=066922101010&CDI=3

...which was reduced to a 1993 State Misdemeanor Conviction for Forge Writing:

http://www.hcdistrictclerk.com/eDocs/Public/CaseDetails.aspx?CaseNbr=932875101010&CDI=2


And now there's the active Civil Case where he is being sued for Defamation of Character:

http://www.hcdistrictclerk.com/eDocs/Public/CaseDetails.aspx?CaseNbr=200954300&CDI=7