Friday, September 29, 2006

American Spectator Unearths Complete Abscam Video....

In addition to that, the accompanying story below takes one through the whole Abscam fiasco step by step, as well as the media's reluctance at the time and maybe even now to completely report all the facts of this case to the American public. That may all change today thanks to the American Spectator.

Up until now there has only been a short 13 second blurb of the poor quality video, although the audio pretty much says all one needs to know. That being Jack Murtha somehow managed to escape indictment for his participation in Abscam nor has he ever paid any political price for his unindicted co-conspirator involvement.

That is maybe until now, seeing that Mr Murtha has brought all this attention upon himself by his looney left wing stance on the Iraq war and his blanket indictment of the soldiers in Haditha. The spark that has ignited the MurthaMustGo and BootMurtha Firestorm.

The complete video is below and permanantly linked in our sidebar for posterity as well. The article is very interesting reading for sure, of particular interest to Murtha's supporters as well as his detractors...as they say, the video don't lie.

The American Spectator: "For more than 26 years, Congressman John P. 'Jack' Murtha (D-Penn.) has not been truthful about his involvement in Abscam, court records and the complete video of his meeting with the FBI show.

In recent years, only a 13-second video of Murtha's videotaped meeting with the FBI agents was publicly available. TAS has obtained a copy of the full, original video from a source close to the Abscam investigation on the condition of anonymity. The court transcript is publicly available at the National Archives. (Too see the full video, click here. For a transcript of the meeting, click here.)

"Murtha has repeatedly maintained his innocence in the Abscam sting operation, even as recently as this year. However, his November 20, 1980 testimony in the trial of Congressmen Frank Thompson (D-N.J.) and John Murphy (D-N.Y.) and the FBI's complete undercover video of his January 7, 1980 meeting with its agent and informant reveal a man showcasing his political influence and apparently tempted to take a $50,000 bribe.

On the tape, Murtha appears eager to arrange his own, long-term deal with the supposed representatives of Arab sheiks, and to cut out Thompson and Murphy. His testimony reveals that after his January 7 meeting, he looked into helping the sheiks enter the country, rather than contacting the FBI or the Ethics Committee, of which he was a member. Through the years, Murtha has maintained that he only met with the FBI agents to discuss investments in his district. His testimony, the video, and the cases of other congressmen snared in Abscam suggest that "investments in the district" was a common Abscam defense for those accused of bribery. full story

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