So Larry Johnson, a guy I respect, says he hears that John Murtha will in indicted for bribery......

[trumad]

and nobody is lifting an eyebrow? Kind of big news to me.

<snip>
2. More members of Congress face bribery indictments: At least five Republicans and one Democrat, John Murtha, are going to be indicted for bribery. The Department of Justice essentially has criminalized earmarks. Members of Congress who have accepted political contributions and then placed earmarks in legislation are on the chopping block. In the past this was normal practice in the lobbying community. On this issue at least the Bush Administration Justice Department is not playing to partisan favorites.
http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/07/real-washington.html

[northzax]

1. if they can prove it, fine

it's an interesting strategery about earmarks, a strange precedent to be setting, but not neccesarily a bad one.

[Faygo Kid]

2. One to watch.

Although when Johnson says, "On this issue at least the Bush Administration Justice Department is not playing to partisan favorites," I wonder what planet he is living on. There has not been a single issue in 6+ years that the Bush Administration hasn't played partisan with.

[Cha]

3. Right..John Murtha is

a bribe taker and he's also against the War On Iraq..actually wants to bring our Soldiers home. Of course, they're gonna try to get rid of him..that's a fucking no brainer.

[trumad]

4. Still kind of big news I think.

[Cha]

11. Oh yeah, I'm with ya there..

I hope Murtha eats those repukes alive.

[bleedingheart]

29. I wouldn't take a bet...

Murtha is an old style politician...

His district is next to mine. I have heard him speak about the war. He isn't actually as anti-war as some assume he is. I attended a fundraiser and he gave a detailed speech about how he would "redeploy troops" and that we needed to "rethink" our strategies. I never heard him say..."we need to bring our troops home and end this war"...

He has and will always be a hawk. He was a hawk before the war...and I don't think he has changed much...he just doesn't agree with how the war was handled...but he is no peace-nik..

However in his favor he is a veteran and he cares about those who are injured and he doesn't want to see vets or their families cheated.

He is also someone who wants to bring money and jobs into his district and if you recall the old ABSCAM from the 1970's...it was clear that Murtha knows how to walk that fine line...some would call him a hero for bringing jobs...others would think of it as corrupt....

Sadly the area he represents is not economically as well off as those closer to the city of Pittsburgh. Additionally with outsourcing of jobs overseas a lot of the machining work and labor work in his district have been shipped out...and that sucks for his constituents and for him.

[MichiganVote]

5. Murtha....gee this couldn't be a dodge due to the flames licking the justice dept. could it?

[trumad]

6. Is this old news or is this something we haven't heard about?

[Big Pappa]

26. This is the first I have heard of this.

But as you know, Mr Murtha has already had some trouble when it comes to money. If any of thes guys are on the take, get them out ASAP.

[aquart]

7. Let me take a wild, suspicious guess:

The cases against the five Republicans will fade away due to some typo or other, but Murtha's will go forward?

I never claimed our guys were saints, they only looked that way recently because so little of the bribe money was offered to them. I have no problem criminalizing earmarks. They've gone way too far and the only way to bring things into manageability is to be quite harsh. My problem is if Murtha was singled out for punishment because of his war stance. Oh, how likely is that?

[Canuckistanian]

21. I think yours is the most likely scenario

I'd like to see exactly which 5 Republicans and what charges they face.

And then compare that to what Murtha is being charged with.

Murtha is already guilty in the RWers minds for his ABSCAM Video. They'd love to see him brought up on charges.

But I would agree with you that this whole thing is a elaborate charade just to get Murtha.

[KoKo]

23. I think you got it...Johnson was doing a wierd back hand alert that Murtha will GO DOWN while the 5

Repugs are REWARDED with FREEDOM MEDALS. :crazy:

[Rosemary2205]

8. Not a Larry Johnson fan

honestly I don't read him and know really anything about him. But you can bet your fillings that if there's any hint of scandal around Murtha it will be screeched from every corner of the US.

[trumad]

10. Exactly--- but not yet which I find curious.

[MessiahRp]

9. Where was this shit during the past 12 years of Republican Congressional Rule

Every earmark was based off a political contribution because they have zero shame. Why only a select few of those guys got in trouble for that is beyond me.

Rp

[Cooley Hurd]

12. If Murtha is guilty of EXISTING statutes, then he needs to be brought into account...

...if this is some silly ploy by the GONZALES DoJ, then he should fight it tooth-and-nail!!!

[Faygo Kid]

13. If it is a ploy, then WE should fight it tooth and nail.

We will need to be vigilant, because just the rumor alone will cause Fox News to drop all other coverage and the radio orcs to devote their shows to smearing Murtha.

The destruction of a leading voice against the war by any means necessary - yep, sure sounds like Bush. Also a good way for Bush/Cheney to warn GOP members thinking of defecting that they could be next.

[KoKo]

20. Murtha is a HERO for being one of the FIRST to SPEAK OUT about Iraq...in a Forceful Way!

So...of course...he will be "Thrown Under the BUS" just like the rest of the Activists who were against the Raping and Pillaging of Iraq by US Think Tanks and their Kids!

I don't like Murtha being a "sacrificial lamb" for us Dems when the Repugs are a CRIME FAMILY and Orrin Hatch, Pat Roberts and Arlen Specter should be DOING TIME IN FED PRISONS WITH LOTS OF GUYS CALLED "SCREW!"

[EVDebs]

14. This still doesn't stop the destruction of our army. See Time Magazine's April 16, 2007 coverstory

And it vindicates Murtha. Welll, like any good whistleblower, you end up getting retaliated upon. Murtha won't be convicted by any jury in the land if retaliation IS what this is all about.

[mzmolly]

15. He also says that Blomberg is running and will split the Dem vote?

:shrug:

[MADem]

16. I don't think this guy knows shit, frankly.

He says Pelosi and Hoyer aren't speaking, either. Funny how they managed to coordinate a presser last week and be entirely civil...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/28/AR2007062802314.html

Murtha IS close to lobbyists, particularly those in the defense industry. One of those lobbyists is his BROTHER.

However, he brushed up close in that ABSCAM business (gee, when was that, 27 years ago? And the Elephant has a long memory...!), and for that reason alone, I rather doubt he'd be careless TWICE. Once burned, twice shy is the saying...not, Once burned, burn me again...!

Sounds like this clown doesn't only have NO QUARTER, he's got no dime, no nickel, no penny and no dollar either!

[KoKo]

24. I had problems believing that Nancy was the "Enemy" on Impeachment while that Shark Hoyer

was promoting it. Seemed to me that Larry's Repug Buddy was trying to put out a "MEME" or "TP" that Nancy is TOAST and DLCer Hoyer that Nancy tried to BYPASS with promoting Murtha was NOW THE NEW GUY IN CHARGE!

Hoyer trying to kick out Nancy and Murtha is more believable than anything else. I'm glad Larry alerted us to what's coming down in the Dem DLC Headquarters. ...I don't know if we can head it off but at least he told us...and since most of us know Hoyer doesn't have good feelings about Pelosi or Murtha (that Nancy tried to replace Hoyer with)...we at least can know what's going on. :shrug:

[MADem]

33. The thing about Nancy and Steny, though, is that they go way, way, WAY back

They can "get shitty" with one another in ways that people who have known each other for decades can. They don't have to observe the niceties, because they know each other way too well. Sometimes, people look at two people who have known each other fo eons, and assume that their manner with one another, cultivated over decades, means more than it actually does.

Steny is a hardworking man, even if you don't like him. He is responsible for providing the winning advice--to say nothing of the CASH--for a number of the new Fighting Dems. I really thought he'd crumble after his wife died, but he's working harder than ever. Steny is WAY to the LEFT of Murtha, though most people here don't realize that. Murtha is a Democratic Party rightwinger on every issue save the war. It's why Murtha was chosen to fire that salvo so long ago--because if a lefty said it, no one would listen, but if a righty did, they'd sit up and take notice. And they (by "they" I mean the Lame Stream Media) did.

[Tarheel_Dem]

17. With all the controvery surrounding the state attorney firings for

political reasons, it will be interesting to learn the background of the attorney who'll be trying the case against Murtha. Just as interesting as those who were fired, are the ones who weren't. Why did they get to keep their jobs?

Not saying that Murtha is innocent because he's a Democrat, but I have no confidence in this Justice Dept.

[DeSwiss]

18. Well, I found this little snippet more interesting....

5. Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer are not speaking. The majority of Americans believe Dick Cheney and George Bush should be impeached. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, says no. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, I am told by someone familiar with the inner workings of the House, favors proceeding with impeaching Cheney. But Nancy says no. Pelosi is being described by some as Tom Delay in a skirt, in terms of her refusal to pay attention to what the majority of Americans want.



K&R

[lonestarnot]

28. I find this interesting too.

[Norquist Nemesis]

34. Tom DeLay in a skirt? Wow! That's rich, considering

DeLay strongarmed things that his extreme right-wing base wanted. If Pelosi were DeLay in a skirt, she would have signed papers bringing forth Articles of Impeachment while the Nation watched her being handed the Gavel!

[KoKo]

19. Larry has problems with Political Discussion...otherwise he's GREAT! n/t

[ProgressiveEconomist]

22. Ar least he's not Majority Leader, as well he could have been.

[struggle4progress]

25. Larry Johnson helped Bush win in 2000. Why should we trust him at all?

Whoop-de-doo if Johnson predicts Bloomberg will run in 2008, or if he says another Republican will soon come out against the Iraq war.

We've heard speculation like this about Bloomberg for the last year and a half.

And with a little bit of searching, anybody can make a reasonable guess which Republicans are most likely to announce next their "opposition" to the war in Iraq.

When Johnson says Murtha is targeted for bribery, I can only note that the right-wing noise machine started making noise about Murtha and Abscam several years ago, ignoring the fact that Murtha quite clearly turned down the bribe. And whatever Johnson says, the Justice Department simply cannot just decide on its own to "criminalize earmarks" without setting up a genuine constitutional crisis. So by throwing this out with Murtha's name in the midst of it, Johnson is carrying water for the Republicans.

And he's carrying water for the Republicans when he compares Pelosi to Tom DeLay.

[Festivito]

27. Might this be a re-hash of when Murtha was taped saying NO?

CONs have tried bringing this up before that Murtha was investigated, had a sting operation tape him, ...

THEY FORGET TO MENTION: MURTHA SAID NO...

to the bribers, on tape.

If different, fine. Murtha was a right-wing Democrat, a war promoter. AND, the military-industrial-congressional complex buys whoever they can, but RepubliCONS are by far the bigger sellouts.

[trashcanistanista]

31. Show me the evidence, until then, smoke and mirrors.

Anyone know who the five rethugs are and the timing on when these indictements allegedly are going to come down?

[Fleshdancer]

30. I would like to know what earmark this pertains to

do we know what political contribution and earmark the DOJ is looking at in respect to Murtha? I tried to do a google search an the only recent stuff I could find on Murtha and earmarks is the link I posted below. The article doesn't really say much other than Murtha had 3 earmarks totaling $1.5 million for various projects in southwestern PA.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/flake-challenges-murtha-on-earmarks-2007-06-29.html

[Norquist Nemesis]

32. Give up the five Cons' names, too

Otherwise, shopping around this story that highlights Murtha as the lone Democrat out of six seems fishy to me on its face.

[opihimoimoi]

35. Sounds like KILL THE MESSENGER