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THE PORTEOUS IMPEACHMENT CASE STARTS MONDAY

The Senate trial for United States District Court Judge Thomas Porteous begins Monday morning. I will be therefore out of pocket for the coming week and part of next week. Unfortunately, that means that postings will be extremely limited but I expect the denizens of this blog to post stories as comments in my absence. I will try to post a little each day on the schedule for the trial and maybe even a story to facilitate discussion depending if I have a second in the morning.

I am honored to be working with the finest litigation team that I have seen in my career. The law firm of Bryan Cave has joined me in this case pro bono and has (as usual) set a new standard for such cases. Bryan Cave won the ABA award for pro bono work this year. I am proud of my long association with Bryan Cave on cases over the many years. In leading this case, I am joined by my longtime friend and brilliant co-counsel, Dan Schwartz, former general counsel of the National Security Agency. Dan and I have been in many legal fights through the years and I could not imagine walking into the Senate on Monday without his calm and experienced guidance.

Partners John Peirce, Keith Aurzada, and Brian Walsh are also assisting in the case and have brought a wealth of experience to the effort. Keith and Brian are two of the country’s leading bankruptcy lawyers will be addressing those specialized issues at trial. Associates P.J. Meitl and Dan O’Connor have worked every aspect of this case — going around the clock as new evidence comes in on the very eve of trial. They have interviewed countless witnesses, researched countless cases, and helped write countless filings. They have helped build every inch of this case over the last few months and will argue the case with us this week. The Senate is about to see in action two of the best young lawyers in this country — as credit to both the team and Bryan Cave. Ian Barlow (Bryan Cave), Sergey Basyuk (GW), James (Brad) Currier (GW), Chris Crawford (GW), Amber Kahn (GW), Nikki Ott (BC) and Peter Shapiro (GW) are also assisting in the case and have done amazing work to prepare this case for trial. Finally, there is my tireless assistant Ashley Klearman who is keeping the office functioning as we litigate this case.

I have never seen their like in litigation and, while, we have had little sleep or family time in weeks, this historic case for me will always be remembered for their unyielding friendship and dedication.

The trial will be covered from gavel to gavel on CSpan television.

For those in Washington, the trial will be held in Hart Senate Office Building Room 216. It is a public trial with public seating. Opening arguments will start on Monday morning at 8 am. Proceedings will continue Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and may run to 7 or 8 p.m. The trial will likely resume the following Tuesday at 8 am and be completed in the afternoon.

Jonathan Turley

48 thoughts on “THE PORTEOUS IMPEACHMENT CASE STARTS MONDAY”

  2. The only thing that I think would and excuse his actions is if somehow he was intoxicated. Other than that he is a real bastard…..

  3. I think another case in point is what we just had over the week-end remembering 9/11.

    The rememberance to my knowledge was always about what happened on that day,all of a sudden its become something entirely different.

  4. AY:

    re video posted by enibob:

    “”I’ve been looking at the web sites,” he said. “People are hunting for me.”

    Reichert, who initially denied that he was the man in the video, expressed his deep guilt about the confrontation and tried to amend his actions. “I made a donation (to a local Parkinson’s disease group) and that starts the healing process,” Reichert told the Dispatch. “That was my first time at any political rally and I’m never going to another one.” (CBS News and Cols. Dispatch)

  6. enibob A similar thing happened when I went to a health care forum. The handicapped and the uninsured that testified were criticized and brought to tears by the tea party people. They left and I left with them.

  8. AY,

    Don’t you remember that video? The guy was eventually identified and his excuses were mind-blowing … I’ll try to look it up later

    Prof is going to cross

  14. Re: AY’s Dallas post … why can’t we take care of our own? People sleeping on the street just isn’t right in a country that has so much and wastes so much.

  15. Dallas rally to back Eddie Bernice Johnson amid scholarship controversy

    09:35 AM CDT on Monday, September 13, 2010

    By MELANIE MASON / The Dallas Morning News

    Supporters of Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson are gathering today at Dallas City Hall to rally for the congresswoman, who has come under fire for her handling of a charity’s scholarship funds.

    http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/yahoolatestnews/stories/091310dnmeteddiebernicejohnson.ea910e8a.html

    Bring us your tired, hungry and poor and we will see what we can get for doing it…..

  17. Thanks Ms. EM (& Blouise). I was able to begin viewing the streaming video just before Prof. T. began, so I am viewing his complete presentation.

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