Elanso

A federal judge on April 1 ordered Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), a veteran liberal legislator and Saddam Hussein stooge, to pay Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) $1 million for an illegally-taped 1996 phone conversation. Even the Associated Press, which we've taken to task numerous times for dropping party labels, noted McDermott's party affiliation. Not so the Seattle Times, McDermott's hometown paper:

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., says Congressman Jim McDermott owes an Ohio congressman $1 million for leaking an illegally taped phone call to the media.

Today's decision may end the dispute that began in 1996 when John Boehner (BAY'-ner) was taped talking about an ethics case involving Newt Gingrich. The tape reached McDermott who gave it two newspapers. He says it's a free speech issue.

Boehner sued and the case has been in the courts for a decade. A federal court ruled McDermott had no right to release the call.

McDermott says the million-dollar judgment is a small price to pay in defense of the First Amendment. He created a defense fund, and it collected about $100,000 last year.

The Seattle Times has previously backed McDermott. In a 2004 endorsement, the paper noted McDermott's far-left credentials:

McDermott has represented the 7th District for 15 years and may have the seat for life. He is chairman of the liberal Americans for Democratic Action and a member of the far-left-leaning Progressive Caucus. He is Congress' only psychiatrist and champions a Canadian-style medical system.