FBI continues probe of Murtha

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Even after death, John Murtha remains mired in controversy.

On Tuesday, the FBI released hundreds of pages about the late congressman who came under criminal investigation three decades ago and who died in February amid an ongoing criminal probe into alleged kickbacks involving defense contractors.

Besides the FBI’s Abscam sting operation that tarnished Murtha’s reputation in 1980, “Mr. Murtha was also the subject of other ethical and potentially criminal complaints,” the bureau’s website noted in explaining why it is still withholding material about Murtha from public inspection.

Federal law allows the public to obtain FBI files on people after they die. There’s an exception, however, when the dead person’s name turns up in an open investigation.

“As this investigative file is still in ‘pending status,’ the bulk of the file’s FBI documents are not releasable until the conclusion of the investigation,” the FBI website entry on Murtha states.

The file contains news articles about Kuchera Defense Systems, to whom Murtha directed millions in congressional earmarks to the firm as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

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