Trial Puts Fiery Lawmaker on New Stand

As his federal corruption and bribery trial opened Tuesday in Cleveland, Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. was blasting away at what he considers a great government conspiracy to drive him from office and throw him behind bars.

“I am not liked by the IRS,” Traficant said in one of many nationally televised interviews he gave shortly before the trial began. “I am not liked by the FBI. I am not liked by the Treasury. I am not liked by the courts. And you know what? Quite frankly, I don’t give a damn.”

For all Traficant’s bluster, the trial and a series of political maneuvers are threatening to torpedo his career--and with it one of the most durable sideshows in Congress.

The nine-term Ohio Democrat, loathed by many in his party for supporting Republicans on key votes, is famed for tirades in the House against perceived government outrages. Sometimes they are punctuated with crude language and mild profanity; usually they end with a cry gleaned from television’s “Star Trek” show: “Beam me up!”

His tousled gray hair and well-worn plaid polyester suits are also Traficant trademarks. Now the 60-year-old lawmaker finds himself one of the relatively few members to be put on trial.

Prosecutors allege that Traficant took gifts and favors from constituents in exchange for lobbying aid in Washington. He also is charged with forcing his staff to make cash kickbacks to him or to do favors for him at his Ohio horse farm. If convicted on the 10 counts against him, he could face more than 60 years in prison and $2 million in fines.

Traficant, declining legal representation, is arguing his own case even though he is not an attorney. On Monday, as jury selection started, he challenged U.S. District Judge Lesley Wells on points of procedure.

At one point, Traficant sought to allow more people into the courtroom to view “the ambience.” But the judge ruled against him. “This trial is not going to be a donnybrook,” Wells told the defendant.

Before the proceedings began, Traficant promised to try to put his prosecutors in jail if they failed to do the same to him. But he did not underestimate his legal adversaries.

“I’m like a mouse looking up at an elephant, asking the elephant to surrender, quite frankly,” he told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Traficant has had success representing himself in court.

In 1983, he won acquittal on charges that, as a county sheriff, he took bribes from mobsters to overlook loan-sharking, prostitution and other illegalities.

In his defense, Traficant admitted taking cash but said it was part of his own sting operation.

That legal triumph helped the former University of Pittsburgh quarterback win election in 1984 to the House in a northeastern Ohio district.

In Congress, Traficant votes an idiosyncratic line that befits a politician who is ostracized by his own party.

Last year, he backed the reelection of Illinois Republican J. Dennis Hastert as speaker of the House. He also voted for President Bush’s tax cut bill. But he also supports such Democratic priorities as raising the minimum wage and expanding the rights of patients to sue managed-care plans.

Democrats, citing his record, shut him out of committee assignments in early 2001. But he remains formally one of 211 Democrats in the House minority. His response: The party “didn’t have the anatomy” to toss him out of the caucus.

Traficant’s legal problems carry obvious political perils. The last member of Congress to be in serious legal trouble while in office, former Rep. Jay C. Kim (R-Diamond Bar), pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of accepting illegal campaign contributions in 1997 and lost in the next primary election.

Traficant faces a number of political challenges, even if he wins acquittal. In a redistricting process controlled by Republicans, his 17th Congressional District was split into two and put into districts held by other Democrats, Reps. Ted Strickland and Thomas C. Sawyer.

Charles Straub, spokesman for the indicted lawmaker, said Traficant intends to run for reelection but has not decided in which district he will compete. The filing deadline is Feb. 21.

If he runs, analysts expect he will face strong opposition in the May 7 primary from one of the incumbents or from a state lawmaker. Democratic officials seem especially eager to unseat him.

“We are confident that the voters of Ohio will elect a real Democrat who supports Democratic approaches to the issues,” said Kim Rubey, press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

But experts note that Traficant has beaten the political odds before. If he is acquitted, he could be rejuvenated.

“I don’t know how many lives Jim Traficant has. I’m never quite sure when he’s done his last one,” said Washington political analyst Stuart Rothenberg. “His skill is to portray himself as a victim and rally public support. You never sell people like that short.”

Times researcher Robin Cochran contributed to this report.