Posted 9:42 PM by Robert

Traficant Congestion

The House of Representative on Wednesday expelled Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, for taking bribes and kickbacks. It was only the second time since the Civil War that it has removed a sitting member for unethical conduct. The vote was 420-1, with only Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., who was defeated in a primary for re-election after he was romantically linked with Chandra Levy, a government intern who was murdered, voting against Traficant's expulsion.

Preliminary reports are that the margin for passage of a subsequent resolution, to tar and feather Mr. Traficant and have him run out of town on a rail, was somewhat narrower, with Barbara Lee, D-CA, and Cynthia McKinney, D-GA, joining Mr. Condit to oppose that measure.