WASHINGTON (AP)-Rep. James McDermott is seeking dismissal of a lawsuit filed against him by a fellow lawmaker, arguing it is a “bedrock of our constitutional freedom” that no one be punished for distributing information critical of a public official’s performance.
“It is to be expected that public officials will be displeased and occasionally embarrassed by the disclosure of such information,” McDermott, (D-Wash.), added in a motion filed April 20 to dismiss a complaint by Rep. John Boehner and seeking oral arguments on his motion.
Boehner, (R-Ohio), sued McDermott last month, claiming the Washington Democrat had leaked an illegally taped cellular telephone call in which members of the GOP leadership planned strategy in Speaker Newt Gingrich’s ethics case in 1996. The New York Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution and Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Congress, published stories that detailed accounts of the call.
In a statement released after McDermott’s filing, Boehner said the Democrat should accept responsibility for his actions.
Boehner added that McDermott’s motion was “essentially an admission of guilt,” and noted that he did not deny being the source of the leaked phone call.
In his court filing, McDermott did not acknowledge whether he had been the source of the leaked, taped conversation.
Instead, he noted there had been no allegation that he had personally taped the call.
“The basic question presented is: May a person be subjected to legal penalties for providing the news media with truthful and lawfully obtained information on a matter of substantial public concern? The First Amendment allows only one answer to that question: No.”
McDermott’s motion added, “Neither the federal nor the state statute proscribes the receipt or possession of a recording of an unlawfully intercepted communication.”
Boehner’s lawsuit stirred interest when he filed it last month, since it is believed to be the first in which one lawmaker sued another over personal actions.
On the tape, Boehner and other members of the House GOP leadership were heard planning a strategy in advance of an announcement from the ethics committee that a settlement had been reached in the speaker’s ethics case. Gingrich wound up admitting to ethics violations and agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty.
The GOP high command was maneuvering at the time to make sure the disposition of the case didn’t jeopardize Gingrich’s campaign to win re-election as speaker.
