This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (December 2008)

Abscam (sometimes ABSCAM) was a United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sting operation run from the FBI's Hauppauge, Long Island, office in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The operation initially targeted trafficking in stolen property but was converted to a public corruption investigation.

The investigation ultimately led to the conviction of a United States Senator, five members of the House of Representatives, one member of the New Jersey State Senate, members of the Philadelphia City Council, and an inspector for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Operation[link]

The FBI set up "Abdul Enterprises, Ltd." in 1978. FBI employees posed as Kraim Abdul Rahman,^[1] a fictional Middle Eastern sheikh, in videotaped talks with government officials, where they offered money in return for political favors to a non-existent sheikh. A house (4407 W St. NW, Washington, D.C.), along with a yacht in Florida and hotel rooms in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, were used to set up meetings between various public officials and a mysterious Arab sheikh named "Kambir Abdul Rahman" who wanted:

• To purchase asylum in the U.S.
• To involve them in an investment scheme
• To get help in getting his money out of his country

Much of the operation was directed by Melvin Weinberg, himself a convicted con artist, who had been hired by the FBI for that purpose. It was the first major operation by the FBI to trap corrupt public officials; until 1970 only ten members of Congress had ever been convicted of accepting bribes.

On February 2, 1980, NBC Nightly News became the first media outlet to break the story that FBI personnel were targeting members of Congress in a sting operation. The FBI had codenamed the operation "Abscam", a contraction of "Abdul scam", after the name of the company.

Convictions[link]

Of the thirty-one targeted officials, one senator, Harrison A. Williams (D-NJ), and five members of the House of Representatives John Jenrette (D-SC), Richard Kelly (R-FL), Raymond Lederer (D-PA), Michael "Ozzie" Myers (D-PA), and Frank Thompson (D-NJ), were convicted of bribery and conspiracy in separate trials in 1981. While most of the politicians resigned, Myers had to be expelled and Williams did not resign until the vote on his expulsion was almost due. Five other government officials were convicted, including New Jersey State Senator Angelo Errichetti; members of the Philadelphia City Council, including Council President George Schwartz, Majority Leader Harry Jannotti, and Councilman Louis Johanson; and an inspector for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Pete Williams[link]

Harrison A. "Pete" Williams

Senator Harrison "Pete" Williams (D-NJ) was indicted on October 30, 1980^[2] and convicted on May 1, 1981^[3] on nine counts of bribery and conspiracy to use his office to aid in business ventures.^[4] Harrison repeatedly met with the FBI agents, and had worked out a deal where he would become involved in a titanium mining operation by way of having 18% of the company's shares issued to his lawyer, Alexander Feinberg. Williams then promised to steer government contracts to the venture by using his position in the Senate.

At his trial, lawyers for Williams argued that the Senator had not actually been bribed because the stock in the titanium mining company was worthless. Other defenses attempting to have the charges dismissed included that he was a victim of selective prosecution by the Justice Department because he had supported the presidential bid of Ted Kennedy over Jimmy Carter in the Democratic primary.^[5] These premises were not accepted by the jury, who convicted Williams after 28 hours of deliberation on May 1, 1981. Later appeals made by Williams included arguments that a main prosecution witness had perjured himself and that the Senator had been a victim of entrapment. The guilty verdict was upheld, and the Senator was sentenced to three years in prison for his crimes.

Because of the convictions, the Senate Ethics Committee voted to censure Senator Williams and put a motion to the floor to expel the Senator for charges of bringing dishonor upon their house of Congress and his "ethically repugnant behavior." Supporters of Williams moved that the censure was enough, and that the expulsion was unnecessary. The Senate voted to censure Williams, but before the vote on his expulsion could occur, Senator Williams resigned his seat in the Senate. In his resignation speech, the Senator proclaimed his innocence and argued that the investigation into his activities was a grievous assault on the rights of the Senate, and that the other senators should be wary of unchecked investigations into their activities by other branches of the government.^[6]

Williams served two years of his three-year sentence at a federal penitentiary in Newark, New Jersey. He served the remainder of his term at the Integrity House halfway house, where he became a member of the board of directors until his death by cancer on November 17, 2001. He also attempted to receive a presidential pardon from President Bill Clinton, but his request was denied.

Williams was the first Senator to be imprisoned in almost 80 years, and had the expulsion motion been approved, would have been the first Senator to be expelled from the Senate since the Civil War.

Frank Thompson[link]

Frank Thompson

Frank Thompson (D-NJ) was a congressman from Trenton, New Jersey who was indicted and convicted of accepting a bribe from an FBI agent posing as an Arab sheik. Well loved by his constituents, he was the longest-serving member of Congress indicted in Abscam.

Thompson abstained on vote to expel Rep. Myers, the first Congressman to be indicted. Thompson himself was not expelled from the House of Representatives because he lost his re-election campaign in 1980 to Chris Smith, a relatively unknown GOP candidate who in 1978 had run against Thompson as a sacrificial lamb candidate. The 1980 election was won by Smith by a margin of 20,000 votes. On December 29, 1980, Thompson resigned his seat in the US House of Representatives.

On December 2, 1980, Thompson was indicted on bribery charges. Thompson spent $24,000 of campaign funds fighting the charges and appealing his conviction on grounds of entrapment.

Thompson was convicted of bribery and conspiracy charges and served 3 years in prison as his sentence starting in 1983. He served 2 years before being released, and worked as a consultant in Washington until his death in 1989.

John Murtha[link]

John Murtha

John Murtha (D-PA) was one of the Congressmen videotaped^[7] in an encounter with undercover FBI operatives.^[8] Although never indicted or prosecuted, he was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the scandal.^[9] As such, he testified against Frank Thompson (D-NJ) and John Murphy (D-NY), the two Congressmen mentioned as participants in the deal at the same meeting. A short clip from the videotape shows Murtha stating "I'm not interested, I'm sorry. At this point..." in direct response to an offer of $50,000 in cash.^[10]

In November 1980, the Justice Department announced that Murtha would not face prosecution for his part in the scandal. The U.S. Attorney's Office reasoned that Murtha's intent was to obtain investment in his district. Full length viewing of the tape shows Murtha citing prospective investment opportunities that could return "500 or 1000" miners to work. In July 1981, the House Ethics Committee also chose not to file charges against Congressman Murtha, following a mostly party line vote. The resignation later that day of Republican E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr., the panel's special counsel, has been interpreted as an act of protest.^[11]

Murtha remained prominent in Congress, and was re-elected by his constituency 13 times over the course of 26 years before his death on February 8, 2010.^[12]

Other public figures[link]

The FBI was accused of entrapment and in 1982 the conviction of Richard Kelly was overturned. However, an appeals court upheld the conviction and Kelly served 13 months in prison.^[13] (He had been videotaped jamming $25,000 into his pockets. He then turned to one of the agents and asked "Does it show?")

Larry Pressler

Senator Larry Pressler (R-SD) refused to take the bribe, saying at the time, "Wait a minute, what you are suggesting may be illegal." He immediately reported the incident to the FBI. When Senator Pressler was told Walter Cronkite referred to him on the evening news as a "hero" he stated, "I do not consider myself a hero... what have we come to if turning down a bribe is 'heroic'?"^[14]

Bob Guccione[link]

The FBI tried to entrap Bob Guccione, publisher of Penthouse (magazine). Guccione was in the process of building the Penthouse Boardwalk Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey and needed financing. Weinberg approached Guccione and told him that an Arab sheikh wanted to invest $150 million in the casino project, but only if the casino had obtained a gaming license. Weinberg wanted Guccione to pay a $300,000 bribe to New Jersey gaming officials to get the license. Guccione responded by saying "Are you out of your mind?"^[15] After the Abscam scandal came to light, Guccione sued the federal government, but lost.^[16]

Conclusion[link]

When the investigation became public in early 1980, controversy centered on the use of the "sting" technique and Weinberg's involvement in selecting targets. Although Weinberg was found to have previously engaged in numerous felonious activities, he avoided a three-year prison sentence and was paid $150,000 in connection with the operation. Ultimately, all of the ABSCAM convictions were upheld on appeal,^[17] although some judges criticized the tactics used by the FBI and lapses in FBI and DOJ supervision.^[18]

In the wake of ABSCAM, Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued "The Attorney General Guidelines for FBI Undercover Operations" ("Civiletti Undercover Guidelines") on January 5, 1981. These were the first Attorney General Guidelines for undercover operations, and they formalized procedures necessary to conduct undercover operations.

Following the initial press accounts about the ABSCAM investigation, Congress held a series of hearings to examine FBI undercover operations and the new Civiletti Undercover Guidelines. The House Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights began hearings on FBI undercover operations in March 1980 and concluded with a report in April 1984. Among the concerns expressed during the hearings were the undercover agents' involvement in illegal activity, the possibility of entrapping individuals, the prospect of damaging the reputations of innocent civilians, and the opportunity to undermine legitimate rights to privacy.

In March 1982, after the Senate debated a resolution to expel Senator Harrison A. Williams for his conduct in ABSCAM, the Senate established the Select Committee to Study Undercover Activities. In December 1982, the Committee issued its final report, which was generally supportive of the undercover technique but observed that its use "creates serious risks to citizens' property, privacy, and civil liberties, and may compromise law enforcement itself."

FBI documents later disclosed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, consisting of newspaper clippings and letters written to the FBI, revealed a mixed response of the American public. Some Americans supported the FBI, but others argued that Abscam was an entrapment scenario ordered by a revenge-minded FBI who earlier had been stung by Congressional inquiries into acts of police brutality and similar widespread abuses.^[19] Congressional concern about sting operations persisted, creating numerous additional guidelines in the ensuing years:

• The Civiletti Guidelines - 1980-1981
• The Smith Guidelines - 1983
• The Thornburgh Guidelines - 1989
• The Reno Guidelines - 2001

During the course of Abscam, the FBI handed out more than $400,000 in "bribes" to Congressmen and middlemen.

In popular culture[link]

French director Louis Malle adapted the Abscam story into a film script entitled Moon Over Miami, with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi set to star, with Belushi playing a fictionalized version of Weinberg; Belushi's death in March 1982 scuttled plans for the film.^[20] Saturday Night Live parodied the scandal in a skit entitled "The Bel-Airabs" (a spoof of The Beverly Hillbillies), February 9, 1980. The incident was also referenced in the Seinfeld episode "The Sniffing Accountant". In music, artist Prince refers to the Abscam story in the track "Annie Christian" from his 1981 album Controversy. Abscam was also mentioned in the film Donnie Brasco, when an agent suggests that a boat used in the operation be used undercover to impress Mafia kingpin Santo Trafficante, Jr.. A 1981 Bloom County comic strip in which Milo Bloom envisions himself as a senator on trial has him accused of "taking money from FBI agents posing as Arab camel scalpers". Abscam was also mentioned as an insult to an FBI agent on an episode of Simon & Simon. A movie that made the Entertainment Weekly 2010 Black List entitled American Bull by Eric Warren Singer is a docudrama of the Abscam events.^[21] The Doonesbury comics also parody the investigation; they show congressmen claiming that they were doing the sting operation to bust FBI agents who were bribing elected officials and working for foreign organizations hostile to the United States.

See also[link]

• Operation Greylord
• Operation Tennessee Waltz
• Jack Shaheen, Abscam: Arabiaphobia in America (1980, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee)

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• PBS - History of Washington Scandals
• The Capital Century - Focuses on Frank Thompson, D-NJ, Abscam details
• Abscam FBI 'Freedom of Information Act' Releases
• Attorney General's Investigative Guidelines, September 2005
• American Spectator article "Murtha and the FBI: Full Director's cut" - September 29, 2006. Has link to watch online the full, unedited 54-minute FBI Abscam/John Murtha video from Jan. 7, 1980
• Abscam Operation
• Political Corruption in America, by Mark Grossman

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)

The American Spectator is a conservative U.S. monthly magazine covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation. From its founding in 1967 until the late 1980s, the small-circulation magazine featured the writings of authors such as Thomas Sowell, Tom Wolfe, P.J. O'Rourke, George F. Will, Malcolm Gladwell, Patrick J. Buchanan, and Malcolm Muggeridge, although today the magazine is best known for its reports in the 1990s on Bill Clinton and its "Arkansas Project", funded by businessman Richard Mellon Scaife and the Bradley Foundation.^[1]

Founding and history[link]

The American Spectator was founded as The Alternative in 1967 by Tyrrell and other students at Indiana University, and was originally published in a tabloid format (it is now published in a traditional magazine format).

After operating under the name The Alternative: An American Spectator for several years, in 1977 the magazine changed its name to The American Spectator because, in editor Tyrrell's words, "the word 'alternative' had come to be associated almost exclusively with radicals and with their way of life." In fact, Tyrrell had started the magazine as a conservative alternative to the student radicalism at the nation's universities in the 1960s. The Spectator is also a British magazine of somewhat similar format and anti-establishment conservatism.

During the Reagan Administration, the magazine moved from Bloomington, Indiana to suburban Washington, D.C.

The 1990s[link]

The publication gained prominence in the 1990s by reporting on political scandals. The March 1992 issue contained David Brock's expose on Clarence Thomas accuser Anita Hill. Brock and his colleague Daniel Wattenberg soon moved on to a target of somewhat longer-lasting relevance: Hillary and Bill Clinton. A January 1994 article about then-President Bill Clinton's sex life contained the first reference in print to Clinton accuser Paula Jones, although the article focused on allegations that Clinton used Arkansas state troopers to facilitate his extramarital sexual activities (see Troopergate). It only referred to Jones by her first name and corroborated few if any elements of her story. This article was the basis for the claim of damages a sexual harassment lawsuit which started the chain of events resulting in President Clinton's impeachment.

David Brock recanted his accusations upon his departure from the conservative movement. He also denounced his Anita Hill article in his 2003 book Blinded by the Right: the Conscience of an Ex-Conservative. He implies that Rush Limbaugh's coverage of his Anita Hill article instigated advertising on Limbaugh's network, which resulted in a large increase in the magazine's circulation. He also implies that this caused the magazine's content to '[move] away from thoughtful essays and scholarly reviews and humor pieces' to 'hit jobs'.^[2]

For his part, Wattenberg eventually incurred the displeasure of many fellow conservatives when he belatedly admitted that he had killed a story about rumors of Clinton fathering a child out of wedlock (with a young African American woman). Wattenberg actually tracked down a videotape of the woman being interviewed (by an unnamed third party who asked her what Wattenberg described as "softball" questions), but he never was able to interview her himself. Wattenberg's rationales for killing the story were that he had no proof that the story was true and that the woman's testimony was unconvincing. He said that she "seemed like a junkie." (The story was revived in 1999 by Matt Drudge.)

Internal strife eventually led to the departure of long-time publisher Ronald Burr after a disagreement with Tyrrell led Burr to call for an independent audit of the magazine's finances. The departure of Burr and several prominent conservative figures from the magazine's board of directors resulted in conservative foundations pulling much of the funding the nonprofit had relied on to pay high salaries to Brock and Tyrrell, as well as to fund direct-mail campaigns needed to keep up the monthly's circulation. Faced with a budget crisis, the magazine, then led by publisher Terry Eastland, a former spokesman in the Reagan Justice Department, laid off staffers and cut spending significantly. The magazine also struggled to pay legal bills incurred from an investigation launched against it by Clinton's Justice Department for alleged witness tampering in the Whitewater investigation. The Justice Department investigation led to revelations about the "Arkansas Project," a campaign by businessman Richard Mellon Scaife to discredit the Clintons by funding investigative reporting at several conservative media outlets. The Justice Department investigation led nowhere and the Spectator was exonerated.

2000s[link]

As shortfalls continued, George Gilder, a long time supporter of the magazine who was newly wealthy from an Internet business, purchased the magazine with the goal of turning it into a profit-making glossy with significant media buzz. Numerous staff members, demoralized by the ever-looming budget crises, were laid off or departed after Joshua Gilder and Richard Vigilante took the reins and vowed to reach a new technology- and business-savvy audience. Circulation and budget losses continued and even increased in the Gilder era, and at one point the entire Washington-based staff other than Tyrrell and executive editor and web site editor Wladyslaw Pleszczynski were laid off as operations were moved to Massachusetts, where the rest of George Gilder's businesses were based. In 2003, George Gilder, who had lost most of his fortune with the bursting of the Internet stock bubble, sold the magazine for $1 back to Tyrrell and the American Alternative Foundation, the magazine's original owner (the name was later changed to the American Spectator Foundation). The magazine then moved operations back to the Washington, D.C. area. Later that year, former book publisher Alfred S. Regnery became the magazine's publisher. By 2004, circulation hovered at around 50,000.

2010s[link]

In 2011, Assistant Editor Patrick Howley published a piece detailing his infiltration of a Washington, D.C. protest. In the article, Howley asserts his aim to "mock and undermine" the protest against American Imperialism, and writes in the first person about his experiences protesting at the National Air and Space Museum.^[3] This article, and the methods detailed within, was condemned by other publications due to perceived conflagration of journalism and politics.^[4][5][6] Prominent supporters of the article include Slate's David Weigel, who called it "conservative media gold." The Economist wrote that Howley "winds up offering a vision of politics as a kind of self-focused performance art, or perhaps (to say the same thing) a version of "Jackass."

Core editorial staff[link]

• Publisher: Alfred S. Regnery
• Editor in Chief: R. Emmett Tyrrell
• Editorial Director: Wladyslaw Pleszczynski
• Associate Editor: W. James Antle III

References[link]

External links[link]

• The American Spectator official site
• Byron York, "The Life and Death of The American Spectator," The Atlantic Monthly, November 2001
• "Olson by a whisker", Salon.com, May 2001 (article containing background information on the "Arkansas Project")
• David Brock, "The Real Anita Hill", The American Spectator, March 1992 (unofficial site)
• David Brock, "His Cheatin’ Heart" ,The American Spectator, January 1994 (the "Troopergate" story)
• David Brock, Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative, Crown, 2002. ISBN 0-8129-3099-1
• R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. (ed.), Orthodoxy: The American Spectator's 20th Anniversary Anthology, Harper & Row, 1987. ISBN 0-06-015818-2

John Murtha
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 12th district
In office February 5, 1974 – February 8, 2010
Preceded by	John Saylor
Succeeded by	Mark Critz
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 72nd district
In office May 20, 1969 – November 30, 1973[1]
Preceded by	Edward McNally[a]
Succeeded by	James Whelan
Personal details
Born	John Patrick Murtha, Jr. (1932-06-17)June 17, 1932 New Martinsville, West Virginia
Died	February 8, 2010(2010-02-08) (aged 77) Arlington, Virginia
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Joyce Murtha
Residence	Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Alma mater	Washington and Jefferson College University of Pittsburgh
Occupation	Small business owner
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature
Military service
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Bronze Star Purple Heart (2) Combat Action Ribbon Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry American Spirit Honor Medal
a. ^ McNally was elected to represent the 72nd district in November 1968. However, he died shortly after his election, and thus was unable to be officially sworn-in as representative for the district on January 7, 1969.[2]

John Patrick "Jack" Murtha, Jr. (pronounced /ˈmɜrθə/; June 17, 1932 – February 8, 2010) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Murtha, a Democrat, represented Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1974 until his death in 2010.^[3][4][5][6]

A former Marine Corps officer, Murtha was the first Vietnam War veteran elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. A member of the Pennsylvania House from 1969 to 1974, he narrowly won a special election to Congress in 1974 and was successively reelected every two years until his death. In the first decade of the 21st century, Murtha had been best known for his calls for a withdrawal of American forces in Iraq, as well as questions about his ethics.^[7]

In 2006, after the Democrats won control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections he made a failed bid to be elected House Majority Leader during the 110th Congress (2007–2009) with the open support of the new House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.^[8][9] He lost to Steny Hoyer of Maryland.^[10] After the Republican's defeat to the Democratic Majority in 2006 Murtha re-assumed his chairmanship of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. He had previously chaired this subcommittee from 1989 to 1995 and served as its ranking member from 1995 to 2007.

Background[link]

Murtha was born into an Irish-American family in New Martinsville, West Virginia, near the border with Ohio and Pennsylvania, and grew up in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, a largely suburban county east of Pittsburgh.

As a youth, he became an Eagle Scout. He also worked delivering newspapers, picking papinkis, and at a gas station before graduating from The Kiski School, an all-male boarding school in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania.

Murtha left Washington and Jefferson College in 1952 to join the Marine Corps and was awarded the American Spirit Honor Medal for displaying outstanding leadership qualities during training. He became a drill instructor at Parris Island and was selected for Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia. He was then assigned to the Second Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. As an undergraduate, Murtha was initiated into the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

Murtha remained in the Marine Forces Reserve and ran a small business, Johnstown Minute Car Wash (which still operates in the West End section of Johnstown). He also attended the University of Pittsburgh on the G.I. Bill, and received a degree in economics. Murtha later took graduate courses from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He married his wife Joyce on June 10, 1955. They had three children: daughter Donna and twin sons Patrick and John M., who live in Johnstown.

Murtha left the Marines in 1955. He remained in the Reserves after his discharge from active duty until he volunteered for service in the Vietnam War, serving from 1966 to 1967, serving as a battalion staff officer (S-2 Intelligence Section), receiving the Bronze Star with Valor device, two Purple Hearts, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve as a Colonel in 1990, receiving the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

In December 2009, Murtha was admitted to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland after suffering from abdominal pains.^[11] He had surgery to remove his gallbladder in December 2009; In late January 2010, he was admitted to the intensive care unit due to complications from the surgery.^[12] He died on February 8, 2010.^[13]

Political career[link]

Soon after returning from Vietnam, Murtha won the Democratic nomination for what was then the 22nd District, which was based in Johnstown. He lost fairly handily to longtime Republican incumbent John Saylor.

Murtha was elected to represent the 72nd legislative district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a special election on May 20, 1969. The election was triggered by the death of Representative Edward McNally, who died in November 1968.^[14] He was elected to a full term in 1970.

Congressman Saylor died in October 1973, nine months into his 13th term. Murtha immediately jumped into the special election contest in what was now the 12th District. In the February 1974 special election, Murtha defeated one of Saylor's former aides, Harry Fox, by only 242 votes. He defeated Fox by a significantly wider margin that November and was reelected 17 times.

Murtha faced tough primary challenges in 1982, 1990 and again in 2002. The 1982 challenge occurred when the Republican-controlled state legislature took advantage of Murtha's connection to Abscam, and incorporated most of the district of fellow Democrat and Vietnam War veteran Don Bailey of Westmoreland County into the 12th District.

The 2002 challenge occurred when the state legislature redrew the district of fellow Democrat Frank Mascara to make it more Republican-friendly, shifting a large chunk of Mascara's former territory into Murtha's district. Mascara opted to run against Murtha in the Democratic primary, since the new 12th contained more of Mascara's old territory than Murtha's. However, Mascara was badly defeated.

An earlier official photo of Congressman Murtha

In 2006, Murtha's Republican challenger was Diana Irey, a county commissioner from Washington County, the heart of Mascara's former district. Irey attacked Murtha for his criticism of the Iraq war. Even though Irey was Murtha's strongest Republican opponent in decades, she polled well behind Murtha throughout the campaign. An October 12, 2006 poll by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review showed Murtha with a commanding lead over Irey, 57%–30%.^[15] In the November election, Murtha won 61%–39%.^[16]

On June 9, 2006, Murtha informed Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that he would run for Majority Leader if the Democrats gained control of the House in the 2006 midterm elections. Despite Murtha receiving Pelosi's support, current Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer was elected to the post.^[8]

On March 18, 2008, Murtha endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton, former First Lady and then Senator from New York, in her bid for the presidency.^[17]

On February 6, 2010, two days before his death, Murtha became the longest serving Pennsylvania congressman in history.^[18] Although he was not sworn into office until February 20, 1974, House of Representatives rules state that Murtha’s service officially began at his election because the seat was vacant.

In 2009, Murtha heard details from Fort Benning U.S. Army Soldiers on how their current uniforms and equipment were not providing camouflage in Iraq and Afghanistan during a personal visit. Murtha immediately took action and convinced the Army to fix the camouflage problem resulting in MultiCam being selected by the Secretary of the Army John McHugh for all incoming Soldiers deploying to Afghanistan in 2010, only weeks after Murtha had died.^[19]

Abscam investigation[link]

John Murtha with Governor Robert P. Casey.

In 1980, during his fourth term as a Congressman, Murtha became embroiled in the Abscam investigation, which targeted dozens of congressmen. The investigation entailed FBI operatives posing as intermediaries for Saudi nationals hoping to bribe their way through the immigration process into the United States. Murtha met with these operatives and was videotaped. He did agree to testify against Frank Thompson (D-NJ) and John Murphy (D-NY), the two Congressmen mentioned as participants in the deal at the same meeting and who were later videotaped placing the cash bribes in their trousers. The FBI videotaped Murtha responding to an offer of $50,000, with Murtha saying, "I'm not interested... at this point. [If] we do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested, maybe I won't," right after Murtha had offered to provide names of businesses and banks in his district where money could be invested legally.^[20] The U.S. Attorney's Office reasoned that Murtha's intent was to obtain investment in his district. Full length viewing of the tape shows Murtha citing prospective investment opportunities that could return "500 or 1000" miners to work.

Earmarks and campaign contributions[link]

Murtha was targeted by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington as one of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress.^[21][22][23]

In September 2006 the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) listed Murtha under Five Members to Watch in its Second Annual Most Corrupt Members of Congress Report. The report cited Murtha's steering of defense appropriations to clients of KSA Consulting, which employed his brother Robert, and the PMA Group, founded by Paul Magliocchetti, a former senior staffer on the Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense.^[24]

In 2008, Esquire Magazine named him one of the 10 worst members of Congress because of his opposition to ethics reform and the $100 million a year he brought to his district in earmarks.^[25] The Wall Street Journal has called him "one of Congress's most unapologetic earmarkers."^[26] According to the Pennsylvania Report, Murtha was one of "Pennsylvania’s most powerful congressmen" and a "master of crossing the aisle and bringing pork into his district."^[27]

In February 2009, CQ Politics reported that Murtha was one of 104 U.S. representatives to earmark funds in the 2008 Defense appropriations spending bill for a lobbying group that had contributed to his past election campaigns. The spending bill, which was managed by Murtha in his capacity as Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, secured $38.1 million for clients of the PMA Group in the single fiscal law.^[28] The PMA Group was under investigation by the FBI.^[29]

In March 2009, the Washington Post reported that a Pennsylvania defense research center regularly consulted with two "handlers" close to Murtha while it received nearly $250 million in federal funding via Murtha's earmarks. The center then channeled a significant portion of the funding to companies that were among Murtha's campaign supporters.^[30]

Views on the 2003 Iraq War[link]

Murtha voted for the October 10, 2002 resolution^[31] that authorized the use of force against Iraq. However, he later began expressing doubts about the war. On March 17, 2004, when Republicans offered a “War in Iraq Anniversary Resolution” that “affirms that the United States and the world have been made safer with the removal of Saddam Hussein and his regime from power in Iraq,”^[32] when JD Hayworth called for a recorded vote, Murtha voted against it.^[33]

Still, in early 2005 Murtha argued against the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. “A premature withdrawal of our troops based on a political timetable could rapidly devolve into a civil war which would leave America’s foreign policy in disarray as countries question not only America’s judgment but also its perseverance,” he stated.^[34]

2005 Resolution on removing American forces from Iraq[link]

On November 17, 2005, Murtha submitted H.J. Res. 73 in the House of Representatives, calling for the redeployment of U.S. troops in Iraq, saying, "The U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It is time to bring them home.”^[35]

The bill cited lack of progress towards stabilizing Iraq, the possibility that a draft would be required to sustain sufficient troop numbers, Iraqi disapproval of US forces and approval of attacks on the soldiers, and the increasing costs of the war. The bill proposed that deployment to Iraq be suspended and that US Marines establish an "over-the-horizon" presence in nearby countries.^[36]

Murtha's comments forced a heated debate on the floor of the House on November 18.^[37] Republicans led by Duncan Hunter of California, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, responded by proposing their own resolution (H. Res. 571), which many Republicans said was intended to demonstrate that those calling for immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq were “out of the mainstream.” Murtha himself took the floor during debate on the resolution after the Democrats yielded all their time to him, and denounced the Hunter resolution as a sham. As expected, Hunter's resolution was defeated, with only three congressmen voting aye.

Jean Schmidt and the “coward” controversy[link]

During debate on adopting the rule for the resolution, Congresswoman Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) made a statement attributed to Danny Bubp, an Ohio state Representative and Marine Corps Reservist, “He also asked me to give Congressman Murtha a message: that cowards cut and run; Marines never do.”^[38]

Seeing Schmidt's remarks as an unwarranted "cheap shot" against Murtha, outraged Democrats brought House business to a halt for ten minutes until Schmidt herself asked and received permission to withdraw her comments. Bubp has since stated that he never mentioned Murtha when making the quoted comment. He added that he would never question the courage of a fellow Marine. Bubp later said, “I don't want to be interjected into this. I wish (Congresswoman Schmidt) never used my name.”^[39]

Haditha, Iraq killings[link]

The Haditha incident occurred on November 19, 2005, and since then there have been differing accounts of exactly what took place.

In November 2005 Murtha announced that a military investigation into the Haditha killings had concluded that U.S. Marines had intentionally killed innocent civilians.^[40] Referring to the first report about Haditha^[41] in Time magazine, Murtha said:^[42]

"It's much worse than reported in Time magazine. There was no fire fight. There was no IED that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood. And that's what the report is going to tell."

The Marine Corps responded to Murtha's announcement by stating that "there is an ongoing investigation; therefore, any comment at this time would be inappropriate and could undermine the investigatory and possible legal process."^[43] Murtha was criticized by conservatives for presenting a version of events as simple fact before an official investigation had been concluded.^[44]

In August 2006, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich filed a lawsuit against Murtha for character defamation during an ongoing investigation into the Haditha incident. In April 2009 this suit was dismissed by a federal appeals court, which ruled that Murtha could not be sued because he was acting in his official role as a lawmaker when he made the statements.^[45]

On December 21, 2006, the US military charged Wuterich with 12 counts of unpremeditated murder against individuals and one count of the murder of six people "while engaged in an act inherently dangerous to others."^[46] Charges were subsequently dropped against seven of the eight Marines involved: Capt. Lucas McConnell,^[47] Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani,^[48] Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz,^[49] Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum,^[50] Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, Capt. Randy Stone, and 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson. Only Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich is still facing trial on 9 counts of involuntary manslaughter.^[51]

[edit] Sun-Sentinel story and correction

In a June 24, 2006, speech at Florida International University,^[52] Murtha said that the military presence in Iraq was hurting U.S. credibility, citing a poll by the Pew Research Center indicating that people in several countries considered the U.S. in Iraq to be a greater threat to world peace than either Iran or North Korea.^[53] When the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported the speech on June 25, it asserted without further evidence that it was Murtha's own view that the U.S. was a greater threat to world peace: “American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran, U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said to a crowd of more than 200 in North Miami Saturday afternoon.”^[54]

The Sun-Sentinel story was picked up by the wire services and the Drudge Report website,^[55] leading several conservative pundits, including Bill O’Reilly, Tucker Carlson, and Newt Gingrich, to comment.^[56] After the Sun-Sentinel issued a correction, O'Reilly publicly apologized.^[57]

2008 Presidential Election[link]

After having endorsed Hillary Clinton, commenting on the prospects for the election of Barack Obama during the 2008 Presidential campaign, Murtha became the subject of controversy after deriding many of his own constituents as "racists" who would not vote for Obama because he is black. In response to the outrage at his comments, he apologized but then reiterated the point by saying, "[T]here's still folks that have a problem voting for someone because they are black. This whole area, years ago, was really redneck."^[58]

Political views[link]

Murtha generally opposed gun control, earning an A from the National Rifle Association.^[59]

In 2004, he was one of only two congressmen to vote for a measure proposing reinstatement of the draft.^[60]

Murtha voted for the Affordable Healthcare for America Act (HR 3692), which passed in the House 220-215 on November 7, 2009.^[61] He said of the bill, "For nearly a century, both Democrats and Republicans have failed to enact comprehensive health care reform. Today's historic vote moves us closer to solving America's health care crisis." ^[62] However, Murtha did not support allowing abortions as part of health care reform. He voted for the Stupak-Pitts Amendment to the health care bill that prohibits elective abortions for people covered by the public healthcare plan and to prohibit people receiving federal assistance from purchasing a private healthcare plan that includes abortions, except when the woman’s life is in danger.^[63] He also voted for a bill to prohibit pregnant minors from crossing state borders to obtain abortions.^[64]

In August 2009, Murtha refused Republican challenger Tim Burns' invitation to attend a town hall meeting focused on healthcare (at the time, Murtha had not yet hosted a town hall meeting);^[65] however, Murtha had held several conference call sessions with his constituents focused on healthcare.^[65]

Murtha, a pro-life Democrat, did not receive favorable ratings from abortion and reproductive health interest groups.^[66] Planned Parenthood, whose stated purpose is “to provide comprehensive reproductive and complementary health care,” gave him a rating of 50% in 2009.^[67][68] He received a rating of 50% from the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, which advocates “access to voluntary, comprehensive and culturally sensitive family planning and reproductive health care services and ... reproductive freedom for all.” ^[67][69]

Death and legacy[link]

A joint service honor guard bearing the casket of John P. Murtha; Johnstown Pennsylvania, February 16, 2010

Murtha was first hospitalized with gallbladder problems for a few days in December 2009 and had surgery on January 28, 2010, at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Longtime friend and fellow Pennsylvania Democratic Representative Bob Brady said Murtha's large intestine was damaged during the normally routine laparoscopic surgery, causing an infection.^[70][71][72] Due to the complication, Murtha was again hospitalized two days later, and died on the afternoon of February 8, 2010, in the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Virginia, with his family by his side.^[73][74] He was buried on February 16, 2010, at Grandview Cemetery in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.^[75]

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said in a statement on the day of his death, "With the passing of John Murtha, America has lost a great patriot." House Republican Leader John Boehner said, "Our nation has lost a decorated veteran."^[76][77]

On April 9, 2010, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus signed an official memo to the Chief of Naval Operations, designating the naming of an Amphibious Transport Dock (LPD), a type of naval warship, as the John P. Murtha (LPD 26).^[78] The Navy Times said the official announcement "added fuel to an already smoldering backlash online."^[79]

A special election was held to fill the seat left vacant by the late congressman, taking place on May 18 to coincide with that state's primaries for Senate and Governor.^[80] The Democratic candidate, Mark Critz, defeated Republican candidate Tim Burns to win Murtha's seat.^[81]

Controversy[link]

In the 2000s, Murtha was the subject of scrutiny over his apparent ties to lobbyists. Some congressional watchers and industry journals published articles questioning appropriations directed towards organizations connected to the congressman. In October 2011, it was revealed that the FBI had investigated Murtha for possible ethics violations.^[82]

See also[link]

Biography portal

• Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district special election, 2010

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about John Murtha on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• John Murtha on the Internet Movie Database

Books by Murtha

• Murtha, John (2004). From Vietnam to 9/11: On the Front Lines of National Security with a New Epilogue on the Iraq War. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0-271-02396-1. 

Articles

• Murray, Shailagh (November 25, 2005). "The About-Face of a Hawkish Democrat". Washington Post, pg. A02.
• Miklaszewski, Jim; Viqueira, Mike (May 17, 2006). "Lawmaker: Marines killed Iraqis ‘in cold blood’". NBC News. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12838343. 
• Murtha, John John Murtha's Iraq Exit Strategy^{[dead link]} November 17, 2005.
• H. Res. 557, the "War in Iraq Anniversary resolution"
• 'Unwinnable' comment draws GOP fire (CNN)
• Murtha calls for change in U.S. Iraq policy (Associated Press)
• USA Today profile
• FBI files on John Murtha
• Rep. Murtha says Rumsfeld, Cheney should resign
• Washington Post: Confessions of a "Defeatocrat"
• Rep. John Murtha, Iraq War Critic, Dies at 77 - video by Democracy Now!
• John Murtha Passes Away (MyJohnstownPA)