WASHINGTON-House Republican Conference Chairman John Boehner (R-Ohio), troubled by the lackluster pace of a Justice Department probe of an intercepted cellular phone call last year that proved politically embarrassing to GOP leaders, plans to sue Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and perhaps others, charging them with violating the federal telecom privacy law.
The only thing holding Boehner back is the question of legal costs. Boehner has asked the House ethics committee whether he can dip into campaign funds to defray legal expenses of a civil suit.
“While a Florida couple has admitted to illegally intercepting and recording the conversation and a Department of Justice inquiry continues, I am concerned that my rights in this matter will be prejudiced by the current pace and direction of the criminal investigation,” said Boehner in a Nov. 7 letter to the House ethics committee.
“Because of these concerns, I have decided to retain legal counsel to assess and pursue any and all civil remedies against any and all persons who engaged in conduct which individually, and/or through a conspiracy, violated the ECPA (Electronic Communications Privacy Act).”
Boehner has written Attorney General Janet Reno several times this year, but only recently heard back from Assistant Attorney General Andrew Fois that the investigation was ongoing. Reno is currently under fire by Republicans for refusing to appoint an independent counsel to investigate fund-raising irregularities in the ’96 Clinton-Gore campaign.
Dave Schnittger, a Boehner spokesman, said McDermott would be the prime target of a lawsuit but that others, such as James Cole, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who assisted the House ethics panel’s probe of House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), also could be named as a defendant.
McDermott could not be reached for comment.
Whether The New York Times, which printed verbatim excerpts of the cell phone transcript that some believe was provided to the paper by McDermott, can also be held liable is unclear.
The 1986 electronic privacy act prohibits intentional interception and disclosure of protected communications, which includes most wireless transmissions. The penalty for doing so can be a $10,000 fine and/or a five-year jail term.
While there have been other high-profile cases involving cellular eavesdropping, this is by far the biggest in terms of the players, the politics and legal implications. This one, moreover, is being played out against the backdrop of legislation moving through Congress to tighten wireless privacy laws and curb illegal cloning of mobile phones.
John and Alice Martin, Florida residents with Democratic ties, tapped into and recorded a conference call last December among Boehner, Gingrich, House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and then-House Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Bill Paxon (R-N.Y.).
The Martins were fined $500 each last April and agreed to cooperate with federal investigators.
Boehner was vacationing with his family in Florida last December and used his cell phone to talk with fellow GOP colleagues. Even though Gingrich and the others were using wireline phones, they could be heard by the Martins on their radio scanner because of Boehner’s cellular link.
The Martins said they turned the tape of the GOP-brainstorming session, which contemplated how Gingrich could sidestep an ethics committee disciplinary settlement with the House speaker, to McDermott.
McDermott, who was the ranking Democrat on the ethics committee that investigated Gingrich, in turn, gave the tape to the committee after the contents of the call were reported by The New York Times and others.
