Obama Endorsed by Saddam Hussein Supporter

Another key endorsement for the appeaser. I'm sure he'll be happy to put this one on the resume. Ironic how on the day Obama and the Democrats had a complete meltdown over George W. Bush chiding appeasers, Obama receives an endorsement from perhaps the biggest terror appeaser in the Congress.

Rep. Jim McDermott on Thursday became the fourth U.S. House member from Washington to endorse Barack Obama for president.

The Seattle Congressman told the P-I's Joel Connelly that Obama is his pick because "I am confident as president he will end the war in Iraq and bring our sons and daughters home."

McDermott has represented Seattle for 19 years and is one of the more liberal voices in the Democrats' 235-member House caucus. He is the last House member from this state to declare his support for a presidential candidate.

Not only did McDermott provide aide and comfort to Hussein, Saddam even picked up the tab for his visit to Baghdad.

More recently, this slug was ordered to pay up for eavesdropping on John Boehner.

I guess he's got a thing for guys named Hussein.

Moonbat McDermott Pays $1 Million to Boehner

I wonder how the knuckleheads who contribute money to this Saddam Hussein-loving nitwit feel about their campaign contributions now going to help elect Republicans.

The wheels of justice turned very slowly in this case, but the bum finally paid up.

Rep. Jim McDermott has paid more than $1 million to House Minority Leader John Boehner, ending a decade-long dispute over an illegally taped telephone call.

McDermott, a Seattle Democrat, paid $1,093,297 to the Ohio Republican's campaign committee earlier this month, spokesman for the two men said Monday.

The payment is in addition to $64,000 McDermott paid Boehner in January, as part of court-ordered punitive damages in the long-running case.

A federal judge ordered McDermott to compensate Boehner for attorney's fees after Boehner sued McDermott for leaking the contents of a cell phone call that was illegally recorded in 1996.

A federal court found last year that McDermott had no right to release the call, in which Republican leaders discussed an ethics case against then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.

A Florida couple recorded the cell phone call on a radio scanner and gave the tape to McDermott, who at the time was a senior member of the House ethics committee. McDermott leaked the tape to two newspapers, which published articles on the case in January 1997.

The Supreme Court decided in December not to revisit the case.

Boehner's spokesman, Kevin Smith, said the $1.09 million payment includes $628,000 from McDermott's campaign account, and about $465,000 from McDermott's legal expense trust fund.

"Every last penny will be used to help elect Republicans," Smith said, calling it ironic that McDermott — an outspoken partisan — "is helping fund the defeat of his fellow Democrats. I wouldn't expect he'll receive a lot of thank you's come November."

His sub-moronic constituency will no doubt reward him with another term.

A sad irony on the GOP end is this is probably one of their largest campaign hauls this political season.

Update: Thanks to Gateway Pundit for the link! Thanks also to The Jawa Report for the link.

Corruption? What Corruption?

Last night I wondered why convicted criminal Jim McDermott was still in Congress. Redstate wonders why there is a lack of interest in Democrat corruption.

Look no further than the entrenched liberal bias in the media. Aided and abetted by the Democrats, they criminalize routine politics, yet tend to look the other way when it's a Democrat.

We live with a double standard, and it's not going to change any time soon.

Why Is Jim McDermott Still in Congress?

Another legal ruling against Baghdad Jim McDermott, House Democrat and good friend of the late Saddam Hussein (via Volokh Conspiracy).

Rep. Jim McDermott had no right to disclose the contents of an illegally taped telephone call involving House Republican leaders a decade ago, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

In a 5-4 opinion, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that McDermott, a Washington Democrat, should not have given reporters access to the taped telephone call.

McDermott's offense was especially egregious since he was a senior member of the House ethics committee, the court said.

When he became a member of the ethics panel, McDermott "voluntarily accepted a duty of confidentiality that covered his receipt and handling of the ... illegal recording. He therefore had no First Amendment right to disclose the tape to the media," Judge A. Raymond Randolph wrote on behalf of the court. Four judges agreed with him.

The ruling upholds a previous decision ordering McDermott to pay House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, more than $700,000 for leaking the taped conversation. The figure includes $60,000 in damages and more than $600,000 in legal costs.

Boehner was among several GOP leaders heard on the December 1996 call, which involved ethics allegations against then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. Gingrich, who was heard on the call telling Boehner and others how to react to allegations, was later fined $300,000 and reprimanded by the House.

McDermott leaked the tape to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The New York Times, which published stories on the case in January 1997.

So 10 years have lapsed and this lowlife is still guilty.

So why do Democrats allow this convicted criminal to stay in their party?

Boehner called the court's ruling encouraging, and noted that the court agreed with a bipartisan report of the House ethics committee in December.

"As I've said many times: when you break the law in pursuit of a political opponent, you've gone too far," Boehner said in a statement. "Members of Congress have a responsibility not only to obey the laws of our country and the rules of our institution, but also to defend the integrity of those laws and rules when they are violated."

McDermott, who has 90 days to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, called the decision "important and unfortunate" and said it was likely to have a chilling effect on political speech.

Eavesdropping, taping phone calls, and leaking them to the media is not free speech, nitwit.

Also at Wizbang!, Michelle Malkin, Right Voices.