[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1031 Reported in House (RH)]
House Calendar No. 170
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1031
[Report No. 111-427]
Impeaching G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., judge of the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, for high crimes and
misdemeanors.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 21, 2010
Mr. Conyers (for himself, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. Schiff, Mr.
Goodlatte, Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Delahunt,
Mr. Daniel E. Lungren of California, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Johnson
of Georgia, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Pierluisi, and Mr. Gonzalez) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
March 4, 2010
Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Impeaching G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., judge of the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, for high crimes and
misdemeanors.
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 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.
House Calendar No. 170
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1031
[Report No. 111-427]
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Impeaching G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., judge of the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, for high crimes and
misdemeanors.
_______________________________________________________________________
March 4, 2010
Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed