Jim McDermott

:"For the illustrator, see Jim McDermott (illustrator)."

Infobox_Congressman
name = Jim McDermott

---

date of birth = birth date and age|1936|12|28
place of birth = Chicago, Illinois
state = Washington
district = 7th
term_start= January 3, 1989
preceded = Mike Lowry
succeeded = Incumbent
party = Democrat
spouse = Therese Hansen
profession=Psychiatrist
religion = Episcopalian
alma_mater= Wheaton College, University of Illinois
residence= Seattle

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, Lake Forest Park, Washington, 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.

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 two-year psychiatry residency at the University of Illinois Research and Educational Hospital (now called University of Illinois Hospital), and fellowship training in child psychiatry from 1966 to 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. [ [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/280912_peacevets11.html?source=mypi Sheehan offers refuge to war deserters ] ] [ http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/biography.sthml Retrieved 2007-03-25.] He is married to Therese Hansen, an attorney, and has two grown children. [http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/biography.shtml Retrieved 2007-03-25.]

Political career

In 1970, McDermott made his first run for public office and was elected to the state legislature as a 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. [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/330860_mcdermott08.html] [ [http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/pr070907.shtml Congressman Jim McDermott - News - Rep. McDermott Knighted by King in Lesotho, South Africa ] ]

Ethics violation for leaking recorded telephone conversation

In December 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 recording was made 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. [ [http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/01/13/tape/index.shtml AllPolitics - The Tale Of The Tape - Jan. 13, 1997 ] ] 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. (No action was taken by the Ethics Committee against Gingrich, Boehner or other participants in the recorded conversation.)

Shortly afterward, 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 "willful and knowing misconduct" that "rises to the level of malice".

McDermott challenged that ruling in a federal appeals court, arguing 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. [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2002895236_webmcdermott28.html The Seattle Times: Politics: Appeals Court rules against McDermott in taped call dispute ] ] 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 $60,000 in damages.

On June 26, 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the earlier judgment, and decided to re-hear the case with all nine judges in September. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/26/AR2006062601135.html Court to Hear Arguments in Taped Call Case ] ] However, that decision also went against McDermott. [http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/03/scotus.call/index.html Justices steer clear of lawmakers' feud - CNN.com ] ]

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." [http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/11/D8LUTLRG1.html Panel: Leaked Gingrich Call Broke Rules ] ] The report stated, "Rep. McDermott's secretive disclosures to the news media ... risked undermining the ethics process regarding" former Speaker Gingrich. It said McDermott's actions "were not consistent with the spirit of the committee."

On July 6, 2007, McDermott announced he would ask the Supreme Court to review the appeals court decision in favor of Boehner. [ [http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0707/McDermott_seeks_Supreme_Court_review_of_Boehner_lawsuit.html#comments The Crypt's Blog - Politico.com ] ] On December 3, 2007, the Supreme Court declined his request for review, so the decision of the appeals court stands.

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 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. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/washington/02mcdermott.html?ref=us "Lawmaker Must Pay $1 Million in Legal Fees"] , Associated Press ("International Herald Tribune"), April 2, 2008.]

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, Rep. David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California to take a trip to Iraq, paid for by Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency. [ http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/26/iraq.trip/index.html Retrieved 2008-03-26 ]

McDermott 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, 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. [Robert L. Jamieson, Jr., [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamieson/131032_robert16.html 'Baghdad Jim' was dead on about war] , "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", July 16, 2003. Accessed online 10 March 2008.]

Pledge of Allegiance

After atheist Michael Newdow lost his court case to have the phrase "Under God" dropped from the Pledge of Allegiance, 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.

Internet gambling tax

On June 7, 2007, McDermott conceded that attempts to ban internet gambling had 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". [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004156324_webinternet31.html McDermott sponsors Internet gambling tax legislation] , Associated Press / "Seattle Times", January 31, 2008. Accessed online 10 March 2008.]

See also

*United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/ Congressman Jim McDermott] official U.S. House website
* [http://www.mcdermottforcongress.com/ McDermott For Congress] campaign website
* [http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC39/McDrmott.htm Congressman Jim McDermott advocates a Canadian-style system as a simple, cost-effective, humane alternative for the US]
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-jim-mcdermott/ Huffington Post: Jim McDermott]
* [http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/03/08/14_mcdermott.html "U.S. Congressman Jim McDermott on the White House's 'Fear Factory'"] - interview with McDermott
* [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008169947_impeachment10m.html McDermott backs Bush impeachment - Beren says impeachment effort is political ploy] by Emily Heffter, Seattle Times, 9/10/08
* [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008112747_mcdermott14m.html McDermott faces 5 challengers but no real re-election challenge] by Emily Heffter, Seattle Times, 8/14/08
* [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060206/mcdermott A War We Can Win by Rep. Jim McDermott]
* [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001905911_mcdermott17m.html Aide says McDermott wasn't aware of Saddam link] , Jim Brunner, "Seattle Times," April 17, 2004
* [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/89509_mcdermott03.shtml McDermott defends his patriotism] , Charles Pope, "Seattle Post-Intelligencer," October 3, 2002

Persondata
NAME=McDermott, Jim
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=McDermott, James Adelbert
SHORT DESCRIPTION=US Congressman
DATE OF BIRTH=December 28, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH=Chicago, Illinois