NLPC Says Judge in Recount Should Have Recused Himself; Gave Donations to Gore
/FROM PR NEWSWIRE WASHINGTON DC 202-347-5155/
TO POLITICAL, NATIONAL AND STATE EDITORS:
NLPC Says Judge in Recount Should Have Recused Himself;
Gave Donations to Gore
WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Please attribute the following
statement to National Legal and Policy Center President Peter Flaherty:
U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks of the Southern District of
Florida has given over $19,000 to Democrats including $1,000 to Al Gore.
Given these political donations, he should have recused himself and allowed
one of his colleagues on bench to hear the hand-recount case. Judges must
adhere to high standards of ethics and integrity -- even more so when the
judge is required to effectively pick the next President of the United States.
This Judge failed to meet these standards.
The following is a chronological list of Judge Middlebrooks's political
donations since January 1, 1979, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Note that 98.72% of the $19,480 went to Democratic candidates and committees.
Note further that his only Republican donation, $250 to the National
Republican Senatorial Committee, occurred the year before the Republican-
controlled Senate confirmed his appointment by Bill Clinton to the federal
bench in 1997.
Federal Political Donations of Donald M. Middlebrooks
05/03/96 $250 NRSC
04/27/96 $500 Bob Graham (D-Fla.-Senate)
09/25/95 $500 Clinton/Gore '96
06/14/95 $500 Clinton/Gore '96
05/31/95 $250 DSCC
08/19/93 $250 DSCC
06/30/92 $500 Jim Bacchus (D-Fla.-House)
02/28/92 $250 Robert Kerrey (D-President)
01/30/92 $250 Robert Kerrey (D-President)
12/18/91 $250 Bill Clinton (D-President)
10/16/90 $250 Jim Bacchus (D-Fla.-House)
08/07/90 $250 Jim Bacchus (D-Fla.-House)
02/20/90 $250 Carl Levin (D-Mich.-Senate)
08/04/89 $500 Gerald Richman (D-Fla.-House)
07/06/89 $1,000 Gerald Richman (D-Fla.-House)
04/10/89 $250 Rosario Kennedy (D-Fla.-House)
02/24/89 $250 Jim Bacchus (D-Fla.-House)
10/28/88 $500 DNC
10/25/88 $1,000 Harry Johnston (D-Fla.-House)
09/30/88 $1,000 Buddy MacKay (D-Fla.-Senate)
06/30/88 $1,000 Buddy MacKay (D-Fla.-Senate)
06/21/88 ($320) Reubin Askew (D-Fla.-Senate)
06/01/88 $1,000 Harry Johnston, Jr. (D-Fla.-House)
03/18/88 $1,000 Reubin Askew (D-Fla.-Senate)
06/22/87 $500 Joseph Biden (D-President)
09/18/86 $1,000 Bob Graham (D-Fla.-Senate)
08/20/85 $1,000 Bob Graham (D-Fla.-Senate)
09/30/82 $1,400 Reubin Askew (D-President)
06/30/82 $1,550 Reubin Askew (D-President)
03/31/82 $1,600 Reubin Askew (D-President)
08/19/81 $750 Reubin Askew (D-President)
11/01/79 $250 Edward Kennedy (D-President)
TOTAL $19,480
Source: Federal Election Commission
NLPC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation promoting ethics and
accountability in government through research, education and legal action. For
more information, see nlpc.org.
SOURCE National Legal and Policy Center
/NOTE TO EDITORS: To arrange an interview, please call Dan Rene
at703-847-3088./
/CONTACT: Dan Rene of the National Legal and Policy Center,
703-847-3088,drene@nlpc.org/
/Web site: nlpc.org
Nov-14-2000 16:08 GMT
Source PRN PR NewsWire
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