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Klobuchar Appointed to U.S. Senate Impeachment Committee

Will consider evidence against sitting federal judge

March 18, 2010

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar was appointed to a 12-member bipartisan committee to gather evidence in the Senate’s impeachment trial of Judge G. Thomas Porteous of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.  The House of Representatives voted to impeach Judge Porteous last week.

The four articles of impeachment accuse Judge Porteous of high crimes and misdemeanors, specifically relating to:
• his refusal to recuse himself in a case involving a law firm with whom he had engaged in a corrupt kickback scheme;
• his corrupt relationship with a bail bondsman and his sister, wherein Judge Porteous accepted meals, trips, home repairs and car repairs from the couple in exchange for setting and reducing bonds at their request;
• using a false name to conceal his identity in his personal bankruptcy case and lying to conceal assets, losses, and new debts;
• making false statements to the U.S. Senate and the Federal Bureau of Investigation when he was appointed to the federal bench.

After the impeachment committee has concluded its work, it will produce a record of its proceedings and a neutral summary of the evidence for the full Senate to review.  Following the review, the Senate will hold additional trial proceedings, and then proceed to a vote which requires two-thirds of the Senators present to convict the judge on an article of impeachment.  If the Judge is convicted on any of the four articles of impeachment, he will automatically be removed from office.

In the history of the United States, only fifteen full impeachment trials have taken place, including eleven judges. Other members of the impeachment committee include Senators Claire McCaskill-Chairman (Mo.), Orrin Hatch-Vice-Chairman (Utah), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Tom Udall (N.M.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) and Ted Kaufman (Del.), John Barrasso (Wyo.), Jim DeMint (S.C.), Mike Johanns (Neb.), James Risch (Idaho) and Roger Wicker (Miss.).
 

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