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• John Murtha is a U.S. congressman, representing Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district in the House of Representatives.

  On May 5, 2009, reports surfaced that Murtha has allegedly used his position as chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee to award government defense contracts to Murtech, his nephew's company. Murtech, owned by Robert C. Murtha Jr., received $4 million in 2008 from the Defense Department for engineering and warehouse service but allegedly has not competed any the work.Washington Post: Murtha's Nephew Got Defense Contract (May 5, 2009)

• Fast Facts

  1. Born on June 17, 1932
  2. Assumed office: February 5, 1974
  3. Party: Democratic
  4. Retired Marine Corps Colonel
  5. Spouse: Joyce Murtha
  6. Religion: Roman Catholic
  7. April 14, 2009: Federal court of appeals dismissed a defamation case brought against Murtha by Marine Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich for comments Murtha made against the Haditha killings in Iraq.RCFP: Murtha's immunity claim upheld in defamation suit (April 14, 2009)

• Murtech Contracts

  Robert C. Murtha Jr., the nephew of U.S. Congressman John Murtha, is the owner of Murtech. According to the Washington Post, Murtech's primary source of income for several years had been government defense contracts. Murtech has seventeen employees who reportedly "provide necessary logistical support" to Pentagon testing programs.Washington Post: Murtha's Nephew Got Defense Contract (May 5, 2009)

  In May 2009, Congressman John Murtha's practice of awarding defense contracts to companies within his district, particularly Murtech, was questioned in the press. Murtech has received a $1.4 million dollar annual contract without competitive bidding and has also allegedly received millions more in government contracts for work that has not been completed. Julius Evans, a spokesman for the Pentagon, said Congressman Murtha has never contacted the U.S. Army command about Murtech and the congressman "has no say in its procurement decisions."Washington Post: Murtha's Nephew Got Defense Contract (May 5, 2009)

• Defamation Suit

  Murtha was sued in August 2006 by Marine Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich. Murtha had made remarks to the press about a gunfight in Haditha, Iraq that killed more than 20 civilians, saying that the killings were "cold blooded murder and war crimes". Wuterich, who participated in the gunfight, complained that the remarks were defamatory. He sued.RCFP: Murtha's immunity claim upheld in defamation suit (April 14, 2009)

  The Federal court found that a Federal employee is immune to lawsuits as long as the attorney general certifies that he was acting within his scope of employment at the time of the incident. The Attorney General certified that; Wuterich countered asking that he be allowed to conduct limited discovery on the scope of Murtha's employment. Murtha appealed.RCFP: Murtha's immunity claim upheld in defamation suit (April 14, 2009) UPI: Court blocks Marine's suit against Murtha (April 14, 2009)

  On April 14, 2009, the appeals court found in Murtha's favor, saying that the underlying conduct—interviews with the media about the Iraq War—was well within Murtha's scope of employment. The case was sent back with the U.S. government named as the defendent. That case is expected to be dismissed.RCFP: Murtha's immunity claim upheld in defamation suit (April 14, 2009) UPI: Court blocks Marine's suit against Murtha (April 14, 2009)

  Wuterich could next ask the U.S. appeals court in Washington to rehear the case, or next ask the U.S. Supreme Court for reviews. At the moment, Wuterich is awaiting trial for his role in the Haditha incident.RCFP: Murtha's immunity claim upheld in defamation suit (April 14, 2009) UPI: Court blocks Marine's suit against Murtha (April 14, 2009)

• Racist Comments

  In October 2008, John Murtha referred to his home region of western Pennsylvania as a "racist area," warning Barack Obama about the potential of the voter response to him in that locale. Murtha later apologized for his comments.CNN.com: Murtha apologizes for calling western Pennsylvania 'racist' (October 16, 2008)

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Murtech | Pentagon | U.S. Army | U.S. House of Representatives | Democratic Party | Nancy Pelosi | John McCain | Steny Hoyer | Jean Schmidt | Vietnam War | Iraq War | U.S. Marine Corps | Haditha Killings | Frank Wuterich | Andrew Grayson

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