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6 months after election, Russell still sparring with Murtha camp
Although six months have passed since Republican William Russell was defeated by Democratic U.S. Rep. John Murtha, the bad blood between the two camps lives on.
Russell, a retired Army man who plans another run against Murtha next year, now contends that the congressman’s chief of staff used coarse language while threatening to have the GOP candidate “recalled” to active military duty.
Russell further claims that Murtha’s office has contacted his former commanding officer, also to inquire about a potential recall.
“This is a brazen abuse of power and a threat to the integrity of both the Department of Defense and the Congress of the United States,” Russell wrote in a recent fundraising letter to local voters.
Russell, who last year lost by about 15 percentage points to the veteran congressman, said the encounter with Murtha Chief of Staff John Hugya happened at a March banquet benefitting the National Rifle Association in Washington County.
“To my face, (Hugya) said, ‘What are you going to do when we get the new Secretary of the Army seated and have your (expletive) recalled to active duty,’ ” Russell wrote.
Murtha’s office is not denying that the exchange took place.
But spokesman Matt Mazonkey also claims that Russell’s letter leaves out an important part of the conversation.
“Mr. Hugya, who is a retired Marine Colonel, was reminding Mr. Russell that his conduct while in uniform during the last campaign was in violation of sections of the uniform code of military justice” and a Department of Defense directive, Mazonkey said in a written statement.
That directive forbids those on active military duty from campaigning for federal office.
The contention, apparently, is that Russell should be recalled so that he can face charges for allegedly campaigning while he was on a 90-day, active-duty Army assignment last year.
Those allegations have been brewing since last summer. But Russell still contends they are “absolutely false.”
While he was on duty from April 30 through the end of July, Russell said, “the campaign committee operated independently of me.”
Russell also says the allegations may stem from an interview he did with conservative talk-show host Michael Savage.
The session was taped in April but did not air until May, giving the impression that he was campaigning while on duty, Russell said.
While the Republican candidate says he is not worried about being recalled, his letter also says his former commanding officer – identified by Russell as Col. Gregory Ritch – “has agreed to testify under oath that he’s been contacted by John Murtha’s office with regards to ‘recalling’ me to active duty.”
Attempts to reach Ritch for comment were unsuccessful.
There surely will be more barbs traded on the way to next year’s elections for the 12th Congressional District seat – especially since Russell apparently will face at least one GOP candidate in the primary.
Republican Tim Burns, a Johnstown native who lives in Washington County, has announced his intention to run for the Republican nomination.
And Murtha’s camp continues to paint Russell as an outsider who doesn’t know the area.
“If William Russell is that desperate for attention, he should do something really eye-opening and newsworthy, like actually move to Pennsylvania, since his latest mailer lists his address in Washington, D.C.,” Mazonkey said this week.
In response, Russell said he continues to live in Upper Yoder Township and said his children are enrolled in St. Andrew’s School on Ferndale Avenue.
The Washington address, he said, is used by a company his campaign contracts with for fundraising activities.
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