Court rebuffs McDermott

As reported here, Washington State Rep. Jim McDermott lost in court again. The case he lost stems from his receiving, and then passing on to the New York Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspapers, an illegally obtained recording of a telephone conversation between then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his top lieutenants, one of whom was Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), who is now House Majority Leader, who brought a civil suit against McDermott. With this latest legal setback, McDermott is one step closer to having to pay Boehner more than $700,000.00 in damages and legal fees.

McDermott still laughably insists that he didn't know that the secretly recorded tape was obtained illegally, and that the First Amendment protected his actions, while McDermott's attorney, Frank Cicero, stated that the ruling would "jeopardize and chill traditional newsgathering and likely encourage an increasing variety of efforts by the government and private citizens to punish the publication of truthful information on matters of public importance."

"The appeals court, however, rejected that position, concluding that McDermott understood the conversation was improperly obtained and therefore not protected.

"It is the difference between someone who discovers a bag containing a diamond ring on the sidewalk and someone who accepts the same bag from a thief, knowing the ring inside to have been stolen," Judge Raymond Randolph wrote for the majority.

"The former has committed no offense; the latter is guilty of receiving stolen property, even if the ring was intended only as a gift." "

Note to Rep. McDermott: The First Amendment to the Constitution protects your ability to make silly statements, not commit criminal acts. It is time for you to pay the piper, which in this case is Rep. Boehner.