Georgia Sen. Chambliss Knocks Over Camera When Asked About Lawsuit

The pressures of the runoff election and the continuing questions about his ties to a large, scandal-scarred sugar company seem to be getting to Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

Asked by a reporter whether a lawsuit involving deaths at an Imperial Sugar plant -- a lawsuit in which Chambliss claims he has senatorial immunity from testifying -- were making his chances at reelection harder, the Georgia Republican responded by knocking away a nearby camera.

The video, put out by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, is another chapter in a bizarre but brewing saga that could very well affect the outcome of the Senate race.

In February 2008, an explosion at the Imperial Sugar Factory in Savannah, caused largely by combustible dust particles, killed 14 workers and injured 40. The whistleblower who brought the issue to light came before Capitol Hill to testify on the matter. Chambliss sat in on the hearing, though he was not part of the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety. He was accused by his opponents of verbally harassing the whistleblower. Moreover, Chambliss continued to oppose a new combustible dust standard at the plant even after the explosion. Finally, when families of the victims filed a lawsuit, the Senator refused to give evidence or testimony, citing Senatorial immunity, which doesn't actually exist.

Imperial Sugar, which has funneled a moderate amount of donations into Chambliss' coffers, has defended the Senator's conduct as appropriate.

Comments

[PhilipTaylor]

This is Exactly what we Americans are trying to put behind us!

Hiding behind an Elected Government Position and refusing to be accountable!

[CalBearinIllinois]

Not really a horrible act, but definitely telling about Chambliss' view of the media. Who was the reporter? The cameraman? Any prior relationship there?

[roshni]

Sue him for assault and battery.

[bigcypress]

Is this guy in Dickipedia yet?

[planetjeffy]

Quit yakking and give Jim $25 to defeat Saxby. http://www.martinforsenate.com/

[dwedge]

Does this man have any redeeming qualities??????

[argent1]

Ain't that just the sweetest thang ya ever seen? Ya know Cane is one of them first boys of Eve, and a heap of trouble come to him. So when the sugar plant jest blew up it was God tellin' all them plant workers he still has them wrathful feelin's for Cane. Thank God John McCane is diff'rent and God can tell the diff'rence

[DowneastBuffAlum]

Now is the time. The end of the slimebag Saxby Chambliss. Payback for Max Cleland. I want this even more than Senator Al Franken or Teddy Tubes going to The Hole. Say it with me: Su-gar-gate, Su-gar-gate, Su-gar-gate!

[joselopez]

I have to say some of these Headlines in HuffPo are extremely misleading. He did not knock down the camera. I am not sure if the headlines being used are to create hits for the page, but if it continues I am going to be visiting the site a lot less.

[Pansey]

then goodbye joselopez..............and you know darn well you will be back because this is the best site out there.

[roshni]

Ciao!

[Coopforobama]

SU-GAR-GATE, SU-GAR-GATE, SU-GAR-GATE, SU-GAR-GATE, SU-GAR-GATE, SU-GAR-GATE. To this day, I have yet to get over how he and Bush treated Max Cleland. And to tell you how deep it is, I'm a black female from Arkansas and it STILL pisses me off just looking at Chambliss. I just want to wake up one morning (soon) and he has been defeated.

[cooperone]

Send Martin money if you can!

[woody2fiver]

There's your TV ad Mr. Martin. Senator Chambliss demonstrating his high regard for truth, transparency, and the well-being of the working class. Are the people of Georgia not ashamed of this man's lack of decency? Then again, we all just watched the United States Senate give Ted Stevens a standing ovation as he said goodbye wearing seven felony counts around his neck. If the Senate had refused him the floor, and walked out when he asked to be heard, it would have sent a strong message to all Americans, even frauds like Saxby Chambliss. Wouldn't that have been change we can believe in? We throw 7 of the clowns out of the Senate and Harry Reid kow-tows to Lieberman and Stevens. Democrats will scream when Stevens gets a pardon from Bush 43, but that will be no less repugnant than yesterday's gutless dislay on the floor of the Senate.

[Maezeppa]

I had no idea Martin was outspent 4-1. Folks! We can do this. Send money, donate, volunteer to make voter calls.

[rpmcmurphy]

I do declare Saxby... you must have taken up with s*tan once again.

[nansofast]

and everyone knows how biased these media people are against
republicans, imagine them trying to get at the truth!

[donklinestiver]

What are you all up in the air about. So Max Clelland sacraficed three limbs for all of us and gets dissed by Sax. Do you all know how many golf balls he lost while in DC Max could never have done that

[mjb5406]

I think "senatorial immunity" means he got a flu shot and can't catch the flu this season!

This man is a piece of work... the stereotypical "good ol' boy" who feels entitled to preferential treatment.

Boot him out of office!

[bygollymissmolly]

So, my question is why is he being allowed to get away with claiming "senatorial authority" that doesn't exist? Why isn't he being arrested for contempt of court?

[CalBearinIllinois]

Most elected officials do enjoy immunity from liability (ie, damages) for official conduct. Generally, though, that just means you can't sue them, not that they are above giving testimony. There also is a clause in the Constitution (the "speech and debate" clause) that makes actions taken on the floor privileged. This latter concept has been stretched to encompass most actions directly related to official conduct - for example, William Jefferson claimed that privilege extended to block the FBI from raiding his apartment (where they found huge wads of cash in the freezer). So its possible that this privilege - rather than immunity - is the basis for refusing to testify, but normally the way to exercise it is to refuse to answer questiions that deal with privileged subjects, and specifying those questions so a judge can decide the applicability of the privilege.

It's basically the same way all the Bushies have been refusing to testify on grounds of executive privilege without specifying what areas are supposedly really privileged, hoping if they yell it loud enough and long enough people will leave them alone.

[roshni]

Why didn't Cheney, Rove, Palin, Todd Palin etc obey their subpoenas?
Rethugs think they are above the law.