And yet the roar of media outrage is either so loud that I have been deafened -- or absent.

Rep. Jim McDermott had no right to disclose the contents of an illegally taped telephone call involving House Republican leaders a decade ago, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

In a 5-4 opinion, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that McDermott, a Washington Democrat, should not have given reporters access to the taped telephone call.

McDermott's offense was especially egregious since he was a senior member of the House ethics committee, the court said.

When he became a member of the ethics panel, McDermott "voluntarily accepted a duty of confidentiality that covered his receipt and handling of the ... illegal recording. He therefore had no First Amendment right to disclose the tape to the media," Judge A. Raymond Randolph wrote on behalf of the court. Four judges agreed with him.

Expect the oh-so-ethical Democrats in the House to do. . . nothing. After all, it isn't like he is guilty of Republicanism or some other grave offense. McDermiott has merely broken the law and House ethics rules.

Posted by: Greg at 10:28 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 212 words, total size 1 kb.