By Frank James
Just because you're a Republican congressional leader whose party tends to inveigh against trial lawyers at the drop of a legal brief doesn't mean you can't savor having a federal judge order a Democratic Party colleague of yours to pay you more than a $1 million in attorneys' fees.That's just the situation in which Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), the House Minority Leader, finds himself. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan ordered Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) to pay Boehner $1,053,181.40 in attorney’s fees and costs.
Boehner's lawsuit against McDermott stems from a hoary case in which McDermott made public way back in 1996 an ilegally recorded phone call involving congressional Republicans who were discussing then House Speaker Newt Gingrich's ethics problems.
The judge also ordered McDermott to pay roughly $40,000 in interest. All this was above and beyond the the more than $60,000 the court previously told McDermott to pay in damages.
Boehner spun his success in court not as a win in the on-going, partisan trench warfare that passes for governing these days but rather as a victory for the American people.
Boehner's lawsuit against McDermott stems from a hoary case in which McDermott made public way back in 1996 an ilegally recorded phone call involving congressional Republicans who were discussing then House Speaker Newt Gingrich's ethics problems.
The judge also ordered McDermott to pay roughly $40,000 in interest. All this was above and beyond the the more than $60,000 the court previously told McDermott to pay in damages.
Boehner spun his success in court not as a win in the on-going, partisan trench warfare that passes for governing these days but rather as a victory for the American people.
"Over the past 10 years, I have consistently said that Members of Congress have a responsibility not only to obey the laws of our country and the rules of our institution, but also to defend the integrity of those laws and rules when they are violated. Congressman McDermott broke the law, and as a result, he shattered the bonds of trust between our institution and the men and women we represent in the halls of Congress. I remained committed to this case in order to begin restoring those bonds, and to uphold the belief that no one – including Members of Congress – is above the law. With this decision, the American people can take comfort in knowing that these important principles have been reaffirmed."
The Associated Press reported that McDermott was spinning hard in the other direction. He portrayed the outcome, a clear loss for him, as a victory for the First Amendment.
McDermott called the court fight with Boehner "a long and costly battle," but said the million-dollar judgment was "a small price to pay in defense of so fundamental a principle, and freedom, as the First Amendment." Because of the protracted legal challenge,
"the First Amendment is stronger today, and shielded by new case law that
will buttress its capacity to protect the publication of truthful information on
matters of public importance long into the future,"
McDermott said in a statement Tuesday. "Knowing this, I am proud of my role in defense of the First Amendment."
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