House of Representatives
U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. could make history by becoming only the fifth member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the nation's history to be expelled. The four members removed from the House are:
John B. Clark of Missouri, 1861, Disloyalty to the Union. A three-term congressman who was expelled July 13, 1861, for taking up arms against the Union. A senator from Missouri in the First Confederate Congress and a representative in the Second Confederate Congress. He was a brigadier general of the Missouri Confederate State troops. He practiced law until his death Oct. 29, 1885.
John W. Reid of Missouri, 1861, Disloyalty to the Union. Served less than a term in the House. He was expelled Dec. 2, 1861, for having taken up arms against the Union. He served in the Confederate Army as a volunteer aide to Maj. Gen. Sterling Price and was appointed a commissioner to adjust claims against the Confederate Government. He settled in Kansas City, Mo., after the war and resumed his banking practice. He died Nov. 22, 1881.
Henry C. Burnett of Kentucky, 1861, Disloyalty to the Union. A four-term congressman who was expelled Dec. 3, 1861, for supporting the secession. He was a colonel in the Confederate Army's Kentucky Infantry and was president of the Kentucky Southern Conference in Russellville, Ky. He was a representative to the Provisional Confederate Conference and elected as a senator from Kentucky to the First and Second Confederate Congresses. After the Civil War, he resumed the practice of law and died in Hopkinsville, Ky.
Michael J. Myers of Pennsylvania, 1980, Bribery and conspiracy related to the Abscam sting in which he was caught on tape taking money from FBI agents posing as Arab sheiks. He was expelled Oct. 3, 1980. He served 20 months in a federal prison after being convicted of bribery and conspiracy. He is now a building contractor in Philadelphia.
Source: U.S. House ethics committee, biographical directory of the U.S. Congress