Senate convicts La. judge on impeachment charges

The Senate has voted unanimously to convict U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous of Louisiana on the first of four impeachment charges, removing him from the federal bench.

Federal Judge Judge Thomas Porteous heads to the Senate Chamber, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, where his impeachment trial is proceeding. The Senate is set to decide Wednesday whether to convict the Louisiana judge of corruption allegations brought by the House in the first impeachment trial since the 1999 case against former President Bill Clinton.Harry Hamburg / AP

Dec. 8, 2010, 3:33 PM UTC / Source: The Associated Press

By BEN EVANS

The Senate has voted unanimously to convict U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous of Louisiana on the first of four impeachment charges, removing him from the federal bench.

The decision makes Porteous just the eighth federal judge in U.S. history to be impeached and convicted by Congress.

The House had unanimously approved the impeachment charges earlier this year. House lawmakers playing the role of prosecutors told the Senate that the 63-year-old judge had a gambling problem and began accepting cash and other favors from people with business before his court. He also was accused of lying to Congress and filing for bankruptcy under a false name.

Porteous' attorneys argued that his behavior, while troubling, didn't merit impeachment.

BEN EVANS