Jim McDermott
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- For the illustrator, see Jim McDermott (illustrator).
| Jim McDermott | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1989 |
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| Preceded by | Mike Lowry |
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| Born | December 28, 1936 Chicago, Illinois |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Therese Hansen |
| Profession | Psychiatrist |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
James Adelbert "Jim" McDermott (born December 28, 1936) is the current U.S. Representative for Washington's 7th congressional district. The 7th District includes most of Seattle and Vashon Island and portions of Shoreline, Tukwila, SeaTac, and Burien.
McDermott is a member of the Democratic Party. He serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and is a member of the House Progressive Caucus.
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[edit] Early life, education, and family
McDermott was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was the first member of his family to attend college; he graduated from Wheaton College, Illinois, and then went to medical school, getting an M.D. from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago in 1963. After completing an internship from 1963 to 1964 at Buffalo General Hospital in Buffalo, New York, a psychiatry residency from 1964 to 1966 at the University of Illinois Research and Educational Hospital (now called University of Illinois Hospital), and fellowship training in child psychiatry from 1966-1968 at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, he served in the United States Navy Medical Corps as a psychiatrist in California during the Vietnam War.[1][2]
He is married to Therese Hansen, an attorney, and has two grown children.[3]
[edit] Political career
In 1970, McDermott made his first run for public office and was elected to the state legislature as a state representative from the 43rd district. In 1974, he ran for the state senate, and subsequently was re-elected three times, to successive four-year terms. In 1980, whilst still a state senator, McDermott defeated incumbent Dixy Lee Ray in the Democratic primary for Governor of Washington, but lost the general election to Republican John Spellman.
In 1987, McDermott left politics to become a Foreign Service medical officer based in Zaire, providing psychiatric services to Foreign Service, USAID, and Peace Corps personnel in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1988, when the 7th congressional district seat became open, he returned from Africa to run for the seat. In 2006, he was elected to the 110th Congress winning slightly less than eighty percent of the vote, easily winning against challenger Steve Beren.
On August 22, 2007, McDermott was knighted by King Letsie III of Lesotho. This knighthood was given in recognition of McDermott's leadership on the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which helped improve Lesotho's economy.[2]
[edit] Knighthood
On August 22, 2007 Rep. McDermott was knighted by the King of Lesotho.[4] Like the knighthood bestowed on General Colin Powell by Queen Elizabeth, the award was merely honorary and thus did not violate the constitutional prohibition against accepting foreign titles of nobility.
[edit] Recorded telephone conversations
In December of 2004, Rep. McDermott came under investigation by the House Ethics Committee when they had to determine whether he violated standards of conduct for leaking an illegally recorded telephone conversation during a committee investigation in 1997. At that time the committee was investigating the conduct of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich.
The illegal telephone conversation was recorded by a Florida couple, John and Alice Martin, who overheard a conversation between Rep. Gingrich and top Republicans, on their police scanner inside their car. After listening to the conversation for several minutes they decided to record it, at first for posterity's sake and after listening further decided that it might be important for the Ethics Committee to hear.[5]
It was at that time that they delivered the tape to McDermott, the senior Democrat on the committee at that time, and who was in town for a swearing-in ceremony.
Shortly afterward, Congressman McDermott leaked the tape to several media outlets, including the New York Times. Rep. John Boehner, who was part of the Gingrich conversation, sued McDermott for illegally leaking the tape; U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan concluded that McDermott was behind the leak and ordered him to pay Boehner for "willfull and knowing misconduct" that "rises to the level of malice".
McDermott challenged that ruling in a federal appeals court. But on March 29, 2006, the court ruled 2-1 that McDermott violated federal law when he turned over the illegally recorded tape to the New York Times and other media outlets. The court then ordered McDermott to pay for Boehner's legal costs (over $600,000) as well as $60K in damages. McDermott had argued that since he was not the one involved in the recording, "his actions were allowed under the First Amendment, and said a ruling against him would have "a huge chilling effect" on reporters and newsmakers alike. Lawyers for 18 news organizations — including ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, The Associated Press, The New York Times and The Washington Post — filed a brief backing McDermott.[6]
On June 26, 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the earlier judgement, and decided to re-hear the case with all nine judges in September.[7] However, that decision also went against McDermott.[8]
On December 11, 2006, a report released by the House Ethics committee concluded that McDermott "violated ethics rules by giving reporters access to an illegally taped telephone call involving Republican leaders a decade ago."[9] The report stated, "Rep. McDermott's secretive disclosures to the news media ... risked undermining the ethics process regarding" former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the committee said. It said McDermott's actions "were not consistent with the spirit of the committee."[10]
On July 6, 2007, McDermott announced he would ask the Supreme Court to review the appeals court decision in favor of Boehner.[11] On December 3, 2007, the Supreme Court declined his request for review, so the decision of the appeals court stands.[12]
On March 31, 2008, Chief Judge Thomas Hogan of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered McDermott to pay 1.05 million dollars to Boehner covering attorney's fees, costs and interest. McDermott also has had to pay over $60,000 in fines and close to $600,000 to his own lawyers. McDermott said he would not appeal further.[13]
[edit] Visit to Iraq in 2002
On March 26, 2008, an indictment unsealed in Detroit accused Muthanna Al-Hanooti, a member of a Michigan nonprofit group, of arranging for McDermott, David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California to take a trip to Iraq, paid for by Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency.[14]
He received sharp criticism from conservatives for his visit, and then afterwards when he began his prediction that President George W. Bush would "mislead the American public" to justify military action. During the run up to the Iraq war, McDermott insisted that no WMD would be found in Iraq.
After this visit to Iraq, Rep. McDermott received a $5,000 contribution to an unrelated legal defense fund from Shakir al Khafaji, an Iraqi-American businessman with alleged ties to the Oil for Food scandal. McDermott returned the contribution in 2004 after it was questioned in the media. Aides asserted that McDermott had no prior knowledge of Khafaji's alleged connections to Iraqi oil money.
McDermott's opponents frequently use the nickname "Baghdad Jim" to call attention to his controversial Iraq visit. His supporters point out that he correctly predicted that no WMD would be found in Iraq.[15]
[edit] Pledge of Allegiance
After atheist Michael Newdow lost his case to have the phrase "Under God" dropped from the Pledge of Allegiance, Rep. McDermott, during his leading of the pledge on the floor of the House, left out the phrase. He later stated that he had forgotten, as he was born in 1936, and the phrase not added until 1954 when he was 17.
[edit] Internet gambling tax
On June 7, 2007, McDermott conceded that attempts to ban internet gambling have been "ineffective". He proposed instead to "subject the revenue to taxation", and introduced a tax on online gambling, labeled Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act (IGRTEA). On January 31, 2008, McDermott stated that the tax could generate "$8 billion to $42 billion in revenue in its first 10 years".[16]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/biography.sthml Retrieved 2007-03-25
- ^ http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/biography.shtml Retrieved 2007-03-25
- ^ http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/pr070907.shtml
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/01/13/tape/index.shtml
- ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2002895236_webmcdermott28.html
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/26/AR2006062601135.html
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/03/scotus.call/index.html
- ^ http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/11/D8LUTLRG1.html
- ^ http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/11/D8LUTLRG1.html
- ^ http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0707/McDermott_seeks_Supreme_Court_review_of_Boehner_lawsuit.html#comments
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/03/scotus.call/index.html
- ^ "Lawmaker Must Pay $1 Million in Legal Fees", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), April 2, 2008.
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/26/iraq.trip/index.html Retrieved 2008-03-26
- ^ Robert L. Jamieson, Jr., 'Baghdad Jim' was dead on about war, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 16, 2003. Accessed online 10 March 2008.
- ^ McDermott sponsors Internet gambling tax legislation, Associated Press / Seattle Times, January 31, 2008. Accessed online 10 March 2008.
[edit] External links
- Congressman Jim McDermott official U.S. House website
- McDermott For Congress campaign website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Interview with Congressman Jim McDermott
- Daily Kos: Rep. McDermott on the Common Good
- Why Jim McDermott is a Hero
- Rep. Jim McDermott Seeks to Protect Students From Military Recruiters
- Congressman Jim McDermott advocates a Canadian-style system as a simple, cost-effective, humane alternative for the US
- Huffington Post: Jim McDermott
- A War We Can Win by Rep. Jim McDermott
- The Baghdad Democrats: David Bonior and Jim McDermott have created a headache for their party, Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, October 14, 2002
- Aide says McDermott wasn't aware of Saddam link, Jim Brunner, Seattle Times, April 17, 2004
- McDermott defends his patriotism, Charles Pope, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 3, 2002
- Congressman suggests Bush hiding Osama, World Net Daily, July 3, 2004
[edit] Succession
| Preceded by Mike Lowry |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 7th congressional district 1989 – present |
Incumbent |
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| Persondata | |
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| NAME | McDermott, Jim |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | McDermott, James Adelbert |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | US Congressman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 28, 1936 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chicago, Illinois |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
