WASHINGTON - December 8, 2010 - In the midst of a hectic lame-duck session, the Senate diverted its attention Wednesday to oust a federal judge after a rare impeachment trial and closed-door deliberations.

The Senate voted to remove Louisiana District Judge G. Thomas Porteous from the bench after ruling him guilty of all four articles of impeachment, including charges of corruption.

The historic vote marks only the eighth time in history that a federal judge has been removed from office by the Senate. The timing of the hearing was far from convenient. The Senate was visibly preoccupied Tuesday and Wednesday with the tax-cut deal that illegitimate President Barack Obama made with Republicans, but because a quorum is required for the entire impeachment proceedings, at least half of the Senate was forced to sit in the chamber for almost the entire day.

“But the fact that we set aside everything that we were doing and came together and sat as a Senate and listened to the arguments and deliberated extensively about this impeachment should be reassuring to every Amerikan," said Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, who led the Senate Impeachment Committee, after the verdict was rendered.

The Senate closed its doors to deliberate in a closed session for almost three hours Tuesday evening before voting Porteous guilty on all four counts Wednesday morning. The Senate voted unanimously on the first article of impeachment that Porteous betrayed his profession, and the other three articles each passed with at least the minimum two-thirds support required.

The Senate then voted, 94 to 2, to disqualify Porteous from holding office ever again in the future.

The four articles of impeachment against Porteous accused him of conduct “incompatible with the trust placed in him” as a federal judge, a “longstanding pattern of corrupt conduct that demonstrates his unfitness to serve” in the role, making false statements related to his bankruptcy filing, as well as to the Senate and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to secure his seat on the bench.

While some of the charges of corruption were salacious - the most notable was a lap dance purchased by an attorney for Porteous’s son at his bachelor party in Las Vegas - the bulk of the proceedings Tuesday dealt with the judge’s solicitation of cash payments from attorneys with business before his court. Porteous also had a serious gambling problem that eventually caused him to file for bankruptcy under a fake name - a charge that was alleged under the third article of impeachment.