From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Feb. 28, 1980

WASHINGTON -- Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Johnstown, yesterday told reporters, "I did what I thought was right," in voting with the House majority to kill a proposal that would have forced the FBI to disclose to Congress evidence in the Abscam probe.

The bill was overwhelmingly defeated, 404-4.

Murtha said he wouldn't comment further on the case in which press reports say he and six House colleagues have been implicated.

"I don't want to fight this thing out in the press," Murtha said when encountered by reporters in the Capitol.

"It would just confuse them."

Asked why he didn't vote "present" as did five other House members mentioned in connection with the sting operation, Murtha said he supported Rep. Peter Rodino, D-N.J., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which had reported the proposal unfavorably.

Murtha said he had been advised by his lawyer not to discuss the case publicly.

Two other Pennsylvania members also mentioned in the sting operation, Reps. Michael "Ozzie" Myers and Raymond Lederer, both Philadelphia Democrats, voted "present" -- an abstention -- during the roll call.

The proposal by Rep. Peter Peyser, D-N.Y., would have forced the FBI to turn over all evidence in the case, including videotapes allegedly taken while agents posing as rich Arabs offered bribes to public officials for aid in immigration cases.

Rodino claimed the Peyser move would "subject the evidence in ongoing criminal investigation to public scrutiny."

Rodino also pointed out the House Ethics Committee, on which Murtha sat as a member until his name popped up in the committee's own probe, will continue to conduct its own independent investigation.

-- Milton Jaques

1786 The State Legislature granted a charter for the Pittsburgh Academy "for the education of youth in useful arts, sciences and literature." Judge Hugh Henry Brackenridge was the prime organizer.

1940 The first televised college basketball games were broadcast by New York City station W2XBS, as Pitt defeated Fordham, 57-37, and New York University beat Georgetown, 50-27, at Madison Square Garden.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Charles Durning, 87. Actor Gavin MacLeod, 79. Hall of Fame auto racer Mario Andretti, 70. Actor John Turturro, 53. Actress Ali Larter, 34.

Thought for Today: "In science, all facts, no matter how trivial or banal, enjoy democratic equality."

-- Mary McCarthy, American author and critic (1912-1989)

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