WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has convicted U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous of Louisiana on four articles of impeachment brought by the House, 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.