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Alcee Lamar Hastings
Democrat, Florida (1993-present)
The Honorable Alcee Hastings became the sixth federal judge in U.S. history to be removed from office. The House of Representatives had impeached Hastings for conspiring to get a $150,000 bribe from defendants in a criminal case.
The Senate in 1989, by a vote of 69-26 ousted Hastings, finding him guilty of conspiracy to accept the bribe, even though he had been acquitted of the charges in a jury trial in 1983.
The judges and later more than three dozen others concluded that Hastings lied to a Miami jury as many as 15 times to win acquittal.
When the Hastings impeachment case reached the House of Representatives, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) was spectical about the evidence and decided to investigate further. Conyers, an African American, became "so certain of Hasting's guilt that he delivered an impassioned speech about race and justice--and made the opening statement during the Senate proceedings . . . "
Hastings was impeached on 17 charges by the House of Representatives in 1988, by a vote of 413-3. In the Senate, he was found guilty on 11 counts, including 7 counts of making false statements.
But the folks back home liked Hastings. In 1992, he was elected to Congress, and has served there ever since.
In 1997, however, following a scathing report by FBI Inspector General Michael Bromwich, the original case against Hastings is up in the air. The Bromwich report said that FBI agent in the Hastings case "engaged in very substantial misconduct" when he falsely told a panel of judges he had conducted lab analysis on a leather bag belonging to Hastings. During the trial, Hastings said he was getting a strap on the bad repaired when his alleged accomplice met an undercover agent to collect $150,000 in bribe money.
Hastings has always maintained his innocence.
Update, Nov. 29, 2006: Incoming Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi rejected Hastings as the next chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. She gave him the usual praise: "Alcee Hastings has always placed national security as his highest priority. He has served our country well, and I have full confidence that he will continue to do so." But then slammed the door on him.
Hastings shot back to his critics: "Sorry, haters, God is not finished with me, yet."
Sources: Reuters, "Senate Ousts Judge Over $150,000 Bribe, October 20, 1989; Sheryl James, "'My Joy and My Pain,' The Sage of U.S. District Judge Alcee Hastings," St. Petersburg Times, Aug. 29, 1988; Ceci Connolly, "Impeachment of Judge May be Flawed," Rocky Mountain News, May 18, 1997, 44A. Jonathan Weisman and Peter Slevin, "Hastings, Harman Rejected for Chairmanship," Washington Post, Nov. 29, 2006, A1; Larry Lipman, "Hastings Won't Lead Intelligence Panel," Washington Post, Nov. 29, 2006, 6A.
