Washington, D.C.
The House Ethics Committee recommended expelling Rep. James Traficant, an Ohio Democrat known for his quirky dress and irreverent speeches. Traficant would be only the second member kicked out of Congress since the Civil War. A Cleveland jury in April convicted Traficant of taking bribes and filing false tax forms. The House committee found him guilty of ethics violations last week. Traficant accused congressional lawyers of trying to smear him, and he threatened to “kick them in the crotch.” He vowed to fight the charges to the end, and do a “Michael Jackson moonwalk” onto the House floor for the final expulsion vote. If he is sentenced to prison this month, Traficant said, he will run for re-election from his cell.
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