[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 35 (Thursday, March 11, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H1327-H1328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IMPEACHING JUDGE G. THOMAS PORTEOUS, JR.

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on the 
Judiciary, I call up House Resolution 1031 and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 1031

       Resolved, That G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., a judge of the 
     United States District Court for the Eastern District of 
     Louisiana, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and 
     that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to 
     the Senate:
        Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of 
     Representatives of the United States of America in the name 
     of itself and all of the people of the United States of 
     America, against G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., a judge in the 
     United States District Court for the Eastern District of 
     Louisiana, in maintenance and support of its impeachment 
     against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.


                               article i 

       G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., while a Federal judge of the 
     United States District Court for the Eastern District of 
     Louisiana, engaged in a pattern of conduct that is 
     incompatible with the trust and confidence placed in him as a 
     Federal judge, as follows:
       Judge Porteous, while presiding as a United States district 
     judge in Lifemark Hospitals of Louisiana, Inc. v. Liljeberg 
     Enterprises, denied a motion to recuse himself from the case, 
     despite the fact that he had a corrupt financial relationship 
     with the law firm of Amato & Creely, P.C. which had entered 
     the case to represent Liljeberg. In denying the motion to 
     recuse, and in contravention of clear canons of judicial 
     ethics, Judge Porteous failed to disclose that beginning in 
     or about the late 1980s while he was a State court judge in 
     the 24th Judicial District Court in the State of Louisiana, 
     he engaged in a corrupt scheme with attorneys, Jacob Amato, 
     Jr., and Robert Creely, whereby Judge Porteous appointed 
     Amato's law partner as a ``curator'' in hundreds of cases and 
     thereafter requested and accepted from Amato & Creely a 
     portion of the curatorship fees which had been paid to the 
     firm. During the period of this scheme, the fees received by 
     Amato & Creely amounted to approximately $40,000, and the 
     amounts paid by Amato & Creely to Judge Porteous amounted to 
     approximately $20,000.
       Judge Porteous also made intentionally misleading 
     statements at the recusal hearing intended to minimize the 
     extent of his personal relationship with the two attorneys. 
     In so doing, and in failing to disclose to Lifemark and its 
     counsel the true circumstances of his relationship with the 
     Amato & Creely law firm, Judge Porteous deprived the Fifth 
     Circuit Court of Appeals of critical information for its 
     review of a petition for a writ of mandamus, which sought to 
     overrule Judge Porteous's denial of the recusal motion. His 
     conduct deprived the parties and the public of the right to 
     the honest services of his office.
       Judge Porteous also engaged in corrupt conduct after the 
     Lifemark v. Liljeberg bench trial, and while he had the case 
     under advisement, in that he solicited and accepted things of 
     value from both Amato and his law partner Creely, including a 
     payment of thousands of dollars in cash. Thereafter, and 
     without disclosing his corrupt relationship with the 
     attorneys of Amato & Creely PLC or his receipt from them of 
     cash and other things of value, Judge Porteous ruled in favor 
     of their client, Liljeberg.
       By virtue of this corrupt relationship and his conduct as a 
     Federal judge, Judge Porteous brought his court into scandal 
     and disrepute, prejudiced public respect for, and confidence 
     in, the Federal judiciary, and

[[Page H1328]]

     demonstrated that he is unfit for the office of Federal 
     judge.
       Wherefore, Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., is guilty of high 
     crimes and misdemeanors and should be removed from office.


                              article ii 

       G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., engaged in a longstanding pattern 
     of corrupt conduct that demonstrates his unfitness to serve 
     as a United States District Court Judge. That conduct 
     included the following: Beginning in or about the late 1980s 
     while he was a State court judge in the 24th Judicial 
     District Court in the State of Louisiana, and continuing 
     while he was a Federal judge in the United States District 
     Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Judge Porteous 
     engaged in a corrupt relationship with bail bondsman Louis M. 
     Marcotte, III, and his sister Lori Marcotte. As part of this 
     corrupt relationship, Judge Porteous solicited and accepted 
     numerous things of value, including meals, trips, home 
     repairs, and car repairs, for his personal use and benefit, 
     while at the same time taking official actions that 
     benefitted the Marcottes. These official actions by Judge 
     Porteous included, while on the State bench, setting, 
     reducing, and splitting bonds as requested by the Marcottes, 
     and improperly setting aside or expunging felony convictions 
     for two Marcotte employees (in one case after Judge Porteous 
     had been confirmed by the Senate but before being sworn in as 
     a Federal judge). In addition, both while on the State bench 
     and on the Federal bench, Judge Porteous used the power and 
     prestige of his office to assist the Marcottes in forming 
     relationships with State judicial officers and individuals 
     important to the Marcottes' business. As Judge Porteous well 
     knew and understood, Louis Marcotte also made false 
     statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in an 
     effort to assist Judge Porteous in being appointed to the 
     Federal bench.
       Accordingly, Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., has engaged in 
     conduct so utterly lacking in honesty and integrity that he 
     is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, is unfit to hold 
     the office of Federal judge, and should be removed from 
     office.


                              article iii 

       Beginning in or about March 2001 and continuing through 
     about July 2004, while a Federal judge in the United States 
     District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, G. 
     Thomas Porteous, Jr., engaged in a pattern of conduct 
     inconsistent with the trust and confidence placed in him as a 
     Federal judge by knowingly and intentionally making material 
     false statements and representations under penalty of perjury 
     related to his personal bankruptcy filing and by repeatedly 
     violating a court order in his bankruptcy case. Judge 
     Porteous did so by--
       (1) using a false name and a post office box address to 
     conceal his identity as the debtor in the case;
       (2) concealing assets;
       (3) concealing preferential payments to certain creditors;
       (4) concealing gambling losses and other gambling debts; 
     and
       (5) incurring new debts while the case was pending, in 
     violation of the bankruptcy court's order.
       In doing so, Judge Porteous brought his court into scandal 
     and disrepute, prejudiced public respect for and confidence 
     in the Federal judiciary, and demonstrated that he is unfit 
     for the office of Federal judge.
       Wherefore, Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., is guilty of high 
     crimes and misdemeanors and should be removed from office.


                              article iv 

       In 1994, in connection with his nomination to be a judge of 
     the United States District Court for the Eastern District of 
     Louisiana, G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., knowingly made material 
     false statements about his past to both the United States 
     Senate and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to 
     obtain the office of United States District Court Judge. 
     These false statements included the following:
       (1) On his Supplemental SF-86, Judge Porteous was asked if 
     there was anything in his personal life that could be used by 
     someone to coerce or blackmail him, or if there was anything 
     in his life that could cause an embarrassment to Judge 
     Porteous or the President if publicly known. Judge Porteous 
     answered ``no'' to this question and signed the form under 
     the warning that a false statement was punishable by law.
       (2) During his background check, Judge Porteous falsely 
     told the Federal Bureau of Investigation on two separate 
     occasions that he was not concealing any activity or conduct 
     that could be used to influence, pressure, coerce, or 
     compromise him in any way or that would impact negatively on 
     his character, reputation, judgment, or discretion.
       (3) On the Senate Judiciary Committee's ``Questionnaire for 
     Judicial Nominees'', Judge Porteous was asked whether any 
     unfavorable information existed that could affect his 
     nomination. Judge Porteous answered that, to the best of his 
     knowledge, he did ``not know of any unfavorable information 
     that may affect [his] nomination''. Judge Porteous signed 
     that questionnaire by swearing that ``the information 
     provided in this statement is, to the best of my knowledge, 
     true and accurate''.
       However, in truth and in fact, as Judge Porteous then well 
     knew, each of these answers was materially false because 
     Judge Porteous had engaged in a corrupt relationship with the 
     law firm Amato & Creely, whereby Judge Porteous appointed 
     Creely as a ``curator'' in hundreds of cases and thereafter 
     requested and accepted from Amato & Creely a portion of the 
     curatorship fees which had been paid to the firm and also had 
     engaged in a corrupt relationship with Louis and Lori 
     Marcotte, whereby Judge Porteous solicited and accepted 
     numerous things of value, including meals, trips, home 
     repairs, and car repairs, for his personal use and benefit, 
     while at the same time taking official actions that 
     benefitted the Marcottes. As Judge Porteous well knew and 
     understood, Louis Marcotte also made false statements to the 
     Federal Bureau of Investigation in an effort to assist Judge 
     Porteous in being appointed to the Federal bench. Judge 
     Porteous's failure to disclose these corrupt relationships 
     deprived the United States Senate and the public of 
     information that would have had a material impact on his 
     confirmation.
       Wherefore, Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., is guilty of high 
     crimes and misdemeanors and should be removed from office.

  Mr. CONYERS (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that the resolution be considered as read.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Jackson of Illinois). Is there objection 
to the request of the gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.

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