Senate Convicts Judge Porteous on Four Articles of Impeachment
The Senate has convicted U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous on four articles of impeachment, making him the eighth judge to be removed from office through impeachment.
The vote means the 63-year-old New Orleans judge will not receive his $174,000 annual pension, according to USA Today, the New Orleans Times Picayune and C-SPAN .
Porteous was accused of accepting gifts from those with cases before him, including two lawyers who gave the judge $2,000 and then won a court ruling in their favor. Porteous’ lawyer, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, had argued in the Senate that his client was “something of a moocher” who made mistakes but is not guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.
The Times-Picayune lists the voting breakdowns:
• 96-0 on Article 1 claiming Porteous should have recused himself in a case because of a “corrupt financial relationship” with the lawyers.
• 69-27 on Article 2 claiming Porteous accepted meals, trips and other gifts from a bail bondsman.
• 88-8 on Article 3 claiming Porteous lied in his personal bankruptcy case.
• 90 to 6 on Article 4 claiming Porteous misled the Senate by not disclosing corruption during his confirmation as a federal judge.
