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"Breakin' the law, he was breakin' the law..."

By Mark Kilmer Posted in Democrats | Okinawa Jack Murtha — Comments (10) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Okinawa Jack Murtha is back in the news for the first time since backing Hillary a week-and-a-half ago. From The Hill [story link] via Josh Shultz at the NRCC Blog:

"Rep. John Murtha's (D-Pa.) top aide [John Hugya] spent more than $2,000 of campaign money to buy a rifle and other items for himself at a National Rifle Association (NRA) charity auction, raising questions about whether the transaction violated House ethics rules and campaign finance law."

"House ethics rules prohibit the conversion of campaign funds to personal use except when members or staffers are being reimbursed for 'legitimate and verifiable' expenses or for 'bona fide' political or campaign purposes."

"'Regardless of whatever lawyerly argument was made, I don't think you could argue that this is kosher,' said Meredith McGehee of the Campaign Legal Center.'Campaign funds are not supposed to be used for personal use, and at the end of the day, the chief of staff got a gun of great value.'"

"McGehee also called on the ethics committee to review the Hugya case in order to define the gray area of the law.

"'One would hope the ethics committee would be made aware of this situation and make a finding,' she said."

"...financial disclosure report for 2006 lists $2,151 in 'items purchased from NRA at a charitable event' as a gift it received that year from the Murtha's campaign committee. The Murtha campaign listed the $2,151 as payment to Friends of the NRA for 'advertising.'"

Read On…

This is serious stuff. More from The Hill:

“Regardless of whatever lawyerly argument was made, I don’t think you could argue that this is kosher,” said Meredith McGehee of the Campaign Legal Center. “Campaign funds are not supposed to be used for personal use, and at the end of the day, the chief of staff got a gun of great value."

McGehee also called on the ethics committee to review the Hugya case in order to define the gray area of the law.

“One would hope the ethics committee would be made aware of this situation and make a finding,” she said. “Its purpose is to provide guidance so that other members and staffers know what’s kosher and what’s not."

It wasn't just a gun. According to a written statement from Murtha spokesman Matthew Mazonkey:

“The items purchased at auction during an NRA event included one rifle, a couple of knives, an NRA blanket and other miscellaneous items."

According to AP, Hugya has given the money back:

Democratic Rep. John Murtha's top aide has reimbursed the congressman's campaign more than $2,000 used to purchase a rifle, knife and other items at a charitable auction.

John Hugya, Murtha's chief of staff, bought the items in September 2006 in Indiana, Pa., using campaign funds at an auction in Murtha's western Pennsylvania district put on by the NRA Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports shooting sports.

After questioned about the purchase by The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper, Hugya decided last Friday to refund the money.

Too late. The compensation in the form of the rifle, knife, etc. was given. Do you think Nancy's Ethics Committee will look into this, or will her buddy Jack Murtha walk away again, just as he did with ABSCAM in the late '70s 'til 1980. It's past time for Okinawa Jack to be punished by Congress for his misdeeds. (Josh has more on Murtha's wrongdoing at NRCC Blog.)