Florida Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings, the vice chairman of the House Rules Committee, delivered a bizarre, rambling line of questioning during Tuesday’s impeachment hearing.
Oddly enough, Hastings, while serving as a federal judge, was impeached back in 1988 and removed from office in 1989.
Though the impeachment inquiry took place in 1988, the acts themselves – soliciting a $150,000 bribe in exchange for lightening sentences for two mob-connected individuals – took place in 1981. Hastings was acquitted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges in relation to the bribe, but new evidence later revealed Hastings had lied during his testimony and falsified evidence. (RELATED: Doug Collins: Democrats Leading Impeachment Inquiry ‘Failed’ To Live Up To Bill Clinton And Richard Nixon Inquiries)
The House of Representatives would propose seventeen articles of impeachment against Hastings, the most ever drafted in an impeachment inquiry. He became the sixth federal judge in U.S. history to be removed from office by the Senate after eventually being convicted of eight articles of impeachment.
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As if that wasn’t enough, Hastings is currently facing a House Ethics investigation for conducting an alleged, romantic relationship with one of his staffers. (RELATED: Trump Blasts Pelosi In Letter Decrying Impeachment: ‘You Are Scarcely Concealing Your Hatred Of Me’)
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