Senate Opens Impeachment Hearings on La. Judge

Chamber's first since Bill Clinton's in 1999
By Drew Nelles,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 13, 2010 9:05 AM CDT
Senate Opens Impeachment Hearings on La. Judge
Congress members are seated on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010, during the Senate Impeachment Trial Committee hearing for Judge G. Thomas Porteous.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The Senate will open today an impeachment trial against a Louisiana judge facing a slew of corruption charges, Fox News reports. The House already voted unanimously to impeach US District Judge G. Thomas Porteous, accused of lying under oath and taking payoffs. A Senate impeachment panel will hold three all-day hearings over the next two weeks.

This marks the Senate’s first impeachment trial since the 1999 case against Bill Clinton, and if convicted, Porteous would become just the eighth federal judge in history to be impeached by Congress. Porteous, who allegedly accepted cash and trips from lawyers, has said little so far, apparently waiting for the Senate trial before mounting a defense.
(More impeach stories.)

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