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Indeed, the ex-congressman managed only to dig a deeper hole for himself.
There had been an in camera hearing in the case in September, an outgrowth of Gallagher's motion for disclosure of any eavesdrop evidence against him. In the hearing, Gallagher-who had been privy to such information as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asian-Pacific affairs-disclosed details of National Security Administration "bugging" of foreign embassies in Washington. In the interest of "national security," Judge Garth ordered all parties to the case not to discuss the matter again and then impounded not only the transcript but his order.
On March 22, 1973, Gallagher sent a rambling, 13-page letter-which he apparently typed himself, on two different typewriters, x-ing out the law office on his legal letterhead -to Chief Judge James A. Coolahan, asking that Judge Garth be removed from the case.
"The personal prejudice of Judge Garth combined with his close working relationship with Mr. Stem is making a mockery out of Justice," he wrote.
He claimed that Stem and the judge had combined to prevent his taking a trip to the Far East "at the request of the Congress of the United States."
"I have always understood it to be a cardinal rule of the judicial system that a defendant cannot engage in `judge shopping,"' he continued. "I believe that Justice equally demands that Mr. Stem not engage in judge shopping or that Judge Garth not engage in defendant shopping. The boldness in this latest action on their part is appalling and totally violates the integrity of the court."
He quoted an unnamed congressman as calling Judge Garth "the house prostitute of the U.S. attorney in Newark."
He said he'd pleaded guilty only because "that would be the only way to terminate Judge Garth's lock on my life." He concluded:
Why, then, is it so important to the point of unbelievability that Judge Garth must retain permanent possession of my fate. Why is it necessary that Mr. Stern have a stacked court. [punctuation sic]
Gallagher's attorney, Charles McNelis, later incorporated the letter in a motion for reassignment of the case to another judge. Judge Coolahan referred the matter to Judge Garth, who remained in charge of the case.
The judge summoned both Gallagher and McNelis into court on April 9, denied the motion for reassignment, then directed both attorney and client to show cause why they should not be cited for contempt of court for violating his order not to discuss the September hearing.
Gallagher kept asking to be heard, but Judge Garth refused, instructing him to speak through counsel. For his part Stern said, "I'm sick and tired of listening to charges which are as vile and as vicious as they come from a man who is equally venal.... I have never, in all my years of practice, seen anything as contemptuous of a court, of a process of law, where judges are branded liars and allusions are made which not only, as Your Honor said, are unsubstantiated, but unsubstantiable."
Strangely, after he was carted off to prison, Gallagher made another U-turn and claimed the $333,000 worth of bonds. The government was more than willing to turn over
the money to him-after extracting $199,000 in income taxes and $10,500 for his fine. Presumably, Gallagher's lawyers got much of what was left.
Where had the money come from? Since Gallagher refused to cooperate, that question will never be answered fully. But Stern says, "If we had gone to trial, we would have been prepared to prove some transactions." What they were he won't say.
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| 08/18/2012 11:10 PM |
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