Pennsylvania Politics -- Murtha and Abscam

Remember ABSCAM? That FBI sting operation in which Congresscritters were offered bribes and some took them? At the time I was living in Philadelphia and my local critter, Ozzie Meyers, was all over the news. He was the one who took money saying "money talks, bulls**t walks." OK! Now you remember!

Well, less attention was paid to Jack Murtha's role in the whole thing. He skated because he did not actually take the money, but he also indicated that he was willing to be bribed, stated that he had been involved in other, unspecified corrupt dealings, and that the reason he didn't take the money was that he was afraid that the story might eventually come out. He wanted more sophisticated ways of transferring funds -- ones that would be hard to trace.

I didn't pay much attention at the time, because I had moved away from Murtha's district [and Ozzie was so much more colorful], but now it is worth revisiting ABSCAM and Jack's role in it.

David Holman, over at the American Spectator, takes us back to those sleazy days of yesteryear and reveals what columnist Jack Anderson called at the time "perhaps the saddest scene on the secret Abscam videotapes," Jack Murtha's negotiations with the FBI stingers. Here's a partial transcript of the meeting as related by Holzman and Anderson. Murtha is speaking:

"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.

As Holman says, this is "damning stuff" and it deserves wider play than it has gotten heretofore.
Read Holman's article here.