Supreme Court refuses to hear McDermott's appeal

AP/NY Times:

The long legal fight between two members of Congress over an illegally taped telephone call ended Monday when the Supreme Court refused to review the case.

The court left in place a federal appeals court ruling that Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., acted improperly in giving reporters access to a recording of a 1996 telephone call of Republican leaders discussing the House ethics case against former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.

McDermott asked the justices to hear his appeal of the May ruling, which he said infringed on his free speech rights. The court did not comment on its action.

The decision upholds a previous court ruling ordering McDermott to pay House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, more than $800,000 for leaking the taped conversation. The figure includes $60,000 in damages and more than $800,000 in legal costs for Boehner, who filed suit against McDermott nearly a decade ago.

McDermott has created a legal defense fund to pay his expenses in the case. The exact amount he owes is the subject of a separate dispute being heard in federal court.

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McDermott still acts like he is above the law when it comes to deciding whose privacy is important. The same guys who are going to bat for Rep. Jefferson's privacy had no problem with releasing an illegally recorded phone conversation to the NY Times. For some reason the AP story published in the Times does not discuss the Times role in the case.

It is especially ironic that the same Democrats who championed this illegal intercept of a private conversation by members of the opposing party want to make the government jump through hoops to intercept enemy communications some going so far as to require warrants to intercept conversations in foreign countries.