Is Congressional foot in mouth talk protected?

Murtha should answer questions
He convicted Marines at Haditha who had not even been charged
ON Nov. 19, 2005, a roadside bomb killed Marine Lance Cpl. Miguel Terazzas and 15 Iraqi civilians in the village of Haditha, Iraq. A lieutenant ordered a Marine squad led by Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich to clear a nearby area of insurgents.

In the resulting search of buildings, the Marines killed 19 unarmed civilians, including women and children, in their homes that day.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated former Marine and Vietnam veteran and an opponent of the Iraq war, subsequently said the Marines had engaged in "cold-blooded murder and war crimes" in Haditha.

No charges had been lodged against the Marines at the time.

A later investigation did result in charges being filed against four enlisted Marines for their role in the killings, and four officers in connection with the investigation. A complicated controversy exists over whether the investigation into the killings, which were horrific, should or even could have begun earlier, and whether it should have been held in the field where more witnesses would have been available.

Most charges were later dropped because of the difficulty of presenting evidence.

But Wuterich, who led the squad, still faces charges - he has pleaded not guilty to voluntary manslaughter - and in 2006, he filed suit against Murtha for defaming his character. A second Marine filed a similar suit.

Murtha refused to testify, saying he has immunity from such proceedings because he was acting in his official role as a member of Congress when he made the "cold-blooded murder and war crimes" comment to reporters.

Last year, a federal judge ordered Murtha to give a sworn deposition in the case. He appealed, and this week the matter went before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Murtha, who has a history of foot-in-mouth disease, behaved badly in a deadly serious matter in this case. Apparently, he has never apologized for convicting Marines who had not even been charged at that point.

For him to hide behind a claim of congressional immunity when a Marine's freedom and reputation are at stake is extremely distasteful.

Murtha should cooperate with the courts, out of respect to the Marines he convicted without trial and out of respect for the right to due process under law, and no court should have to order him to do it.

source

Murtha is one of the bums I had sincerely hoped would be thrown out a couple of weeks ago.

Stephanie wrote:Murtha is one of the bums I had sincerely hoped would be thrown out a couple of weeks ago.

Like I said before, not much is going to change until we change the way election campaigns are financed.


John P. Murtha

Choose your cycle:
200820062004200220001998Career
First Elected: 1974
Next Election: 2008
Committee Assignments:
Appropriations
Leadership PAC: Majority PAC
Cycle Fundraising, 2007 - 2008
Raised: $2,170,351
Spent: $2,007,635
Cash on Hand: $502,966
Debts: $3,750
Last Report: Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Top 5 Contributors, 2007-2008
General Dynamics $37,750
DRS Technologies $32,200
Planning Systems Inc $28,850
Argon St Inc $27,900
Kuchera Industries $25,300

Top 5 Industries, 2007-2008
Defense Electronics $205,650
Computers/Internet $164,200
Lobbyists $134,300
Misc Defense $128,750
Lawyers/Law Firms $88,300

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00001408

You're exactly right Frank.

People should be able to donate to whomever they want, how they want so long as they disclose where the money comes from.

After all, our money is an extension of who we are and what we say and thus how we spend it is a protected first amendment right, don't you agree!!!