Murtha Gone Wild!

Uncut and uncensored, John Murtha shows what an upstanding guy he really is.

Murtha can't cut and run from his past.

The thing about the past is it never goes away.

CNSNews has a bit of the damning Abscam video.

NewsBusters has a bit of the damning Abscam transcript.

Undercover FBI Agent: "I got, I went out and I got the $50,000, okay? From what you're telling me, okay, you're telling me that that's not what you, you know, that's not what you-"

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA): "I'm not interested."

FBI Agent: "Okay."

Murtha: "At this point."

FBI Agent: "Okay."

Murtha: "You know, we do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested and maybe I won't, you know."

FBI Agent: "Okay."

The American Spectator has a more complete version, with Murtha explaining why he didn't take the money.

"I want to deal with you guys awhile before I make any transactions at all, period.... After we've done some business, well, then I might change my mind...."

..."I'm going to tell you this. If anybody can do it -- I'm not B.S.-ing you fellows -- I can get it done my way." he boasted. "There's no question about it."...

But the reluctant Murtha wouldn't touch the $50,000. Here on secret videotape was this all-American hero, tall and dignified in a disheveled way, explaining why he wasn't quite ready to accept the cash.

"All at once," he said, "some dumb [expletive deleted] would go start talking eight years from now about this whole thing and say [expletive deleted], this happened. Then in order to get immunity so he doesn't go to jail, he starts talking and fingering people. So the [S.O.B.] falls apart."...

"You give us the banks where you want the money deposited," offered one of the bagmen.

"All right," agreed Murtha. "How much money we talking about?"

"Well, you tell me."

"Well, let me find out what is a reasonable figure that will get their attention," said Murtha, "because there are a couple of banks that have really done me some favors in the past, and I'd like to put some money in....["]

The dialogue continued as follows:

Amoroso: Let me ask you now that we're together. I was under the impression, OK, and I told Howard [middleman Howard Criden] what we were willing to pay, and [This is where the available videotape begins]I went out, I got the $50,000. OK? So what you're telling me, OK, you're telling me that that's not what you know....

Murtha: I'm not interested.

Amoroso: OK.

Murtha: At this point, [This is where the available videotape ends] you know, we do business together for a while. Maybe I'll be interested and maybe I won't.... Right now, I'm not interested in those other things. Now, I won't say that some day, you know, I, if you made an offer, it may be I would change my mind some day.

Watch the complete video.

The American Spectator: Full video of Murtha's Abscam meeting with the FBI.

The complete and unedited video of Congressman John Murtha's January 7, 1980 meeting with the FBI's undercover Abscam investigation. At Abscam's W Street townhouse in Washington, D.C. With FBI Special Agent Anthony Amoroso, informant Mel Weinberg, and Howard Criden.

What is Pelosi thinking?

Ruth Marcus gets it right.

John Murtha is UNFIT FOR MAJORITY LEADER.

Marcus writes:

The biggest puzzle, and biggest disappointment, in all this is Pelosi, who was pitch-perfect in her first several days as speaker-elect. Now comes this lose-lose move.

If she gets her way and helps Murtha win a come-from-behind victory against Maryland's Steny Hoyer in tomorrow's leadership election, she's buying herself -- and the Democratic caucus -- endless news stories about Murtha's ethics. If, as he says, Hoyer has the votes, Pelosi has made herself look weak within the caucus -- not a smart move for any new leader, and certainly not for the first woman in the job. Perhaps the late timing and measured phrasing of Pelosi's endorsement were meant to ensure that it would have little impact. If so, Pelosi failed to recognize that once she weighed in, the vote for majority leader would inevitably be seen as a gauge of her clout.

I wrote a few weeks back that Pelosi's first test as speaker would be whether she picks Florida's Alcee Hastings -- who was removed from his federal judgeship for agreeing to take a bribe -- to head the intelligence committee. As it turns out, I was wrong. Pelosi's first test was how to handle Murtha. Whatever happens tomorrow, she flunked. Whether she'll get another failing grade on Hastings remains to be seen.

Michael Barone discusses why the Madame Nancy Pelosi would back the unethical Murtha to be majority leader.

He notes:

[S]he has taken some serious political risks by supporting a man with Murtha's record. House Democrats are backing some serious changes in ethics rules, but Murtha's election would cast a pall over them. The word from Capitol Hill has been that Steny Hoyer, the current minority whip who ran against Pelosi for that job in 2001, has the votes. Hoyer is an experienced and competent politician who is respected and well liked on both sides of the aisle, and I suspect that many House Democrats are miffed that Pelosi is opposing him.

What I find particularly troubling is that lib outlets like The Washington Post and The New York Times are now citing the dirt on Murtha. This stuff isn't new.

Diana Irey used it in her campaign, but Murtha won reelection anyway.

The people of Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District knowingly elected a scumbag.

And Pelosi is backing him to lead the majority in the House.

So much for clean government and a new Washington.