House panel opens impeachment hearings vs. judge (AP)
WASHINGTON – A congressional committee has opened hearings on impeaching a Louisiana federal judge over allegations of financial misconduct.
A task force of the House Judiciary Committee began the hearings Tuesday after U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. failed to persuade a federal court to block the proceedings.
Porteous was caught up in a five-year FBI investigation into judges in Jefferson Parish. Although he was never charged with a crime, investigators cited evidence that Porteous accepted gifts from attorneys with cases before him and filed for bankruptcy under a false name.
Porteous sued the House panel Friday, saying it was using testimony he gave under promise of immunity. But the court rejected his request to stop the hearings.
