Texan Sworn In as Congressman Despite Sentence
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WASHINGTON — Craig Washington was sworn in Tuesday as the newest member of Congress and shrugged off a Texas judge’s sentencing of him to 30 days in jail for leaving his clients “in the lurch.”
“I’m going to go about my work in Congress,” Washington told reporters after being sworn in. “To use an old East Texas expression, it doesn’t touch me top, side or bottom.”
Washington, a Democrat from Houston, fills the seat left by the death of Rep. Mickey Leland.
The contempt of court sentence, imposed Monday by State District Judge Jim Barr in Houston, marked the second time in two weeks a jail sentence has been ordered for Washington for not heeding notices to appear in court on behalf of clients. The judge said Washington had left clients “in the lurch.”
Hearings have been scheduled for Washington to show why he should not be sent to jail.
Washington received his oath of office Tuesday from House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.).
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