Jan. 26, 1981:

Kelly Congress campaign button.

Former Rep. Richard Kelly (R-FL) became the sixth member of Congress, and the only Republican, to be convicted of bribery charges in the wake of the government's Abscam probe.

Kelly, who was defeated for renomination the previous September, said he would appeal. He acknowledged taking $25,000 in cash but said he had done so as part of his own investigation into the "suspicious characters" he was dealing with.

The other five House members convicted in Abscam, all Democrats: Ozzie Myers and Ray Lederer of Pennsylvania, John Jenrette of South Carolina, Frank Thompson of New Jersey, and John Murphy of New York. The only senator involved in the scandal, Democrat Harrison Williams of New Jersey, would go on trial March 30.

Today in Campaign History is a daily feature on Political Junkie.

categories: Today In Campaign History

11:03 - January 26, 2009

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