The former peers of convicted Representative Duke Cunningham are revolted by the fact that he created a ‘bribe menu’ that listed earmarks he could get for a contractor alongside the money and favors that he would ask for in return. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, fellow California Republican Darrell Issa, even though he doesn’t “want to see anybody rot in jail for the sake of rotting in jail,” is calling for the maximum10 year sentence because, “I believe that anything less is going to send the wrong message about how … you should treat somebody who betrays the public trust at this level.” Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), both close to Cunningham and the alleged bribers, Brent Wilkes and Mitchell Wade, refused to comment on the bribe menu. Hunter instead attacked the prosecutors saying that they were, “eking out their most damaging evidence … to bolster their position.”
Continue readingPentagon Reassigns Lewis Aide:
The Pentagon is recalling an aide to Appropriations chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) who was working in apparent violation of House and Department of Defense rules. Lt. Col. Carl Kime worked on Lewis’ staff in an important legislative function, where he had “oversight on requests for earmarked funds in the defense appropriations bill,” while remaining on the payroll of the Defense Department. According to The Hill newspaper, Kime’s “service for Lewis appeared to violate the Members’ Congressional Handbook issued by the Committee for House Administration, which defines a detailee as a ‘non-congressional federal employee assigned to a committee for a period of up to one year.’ The handbook also states that “detailees may not be assigned to a member office” and cites the relevant section of U.S. law: 2 USC Section 72a(f).”
Continue readingEarmark Foes Work as Lobbyists to Secure Earmarks:
The American Conservative Union, which recently called for an end to “pork barrel spending” and proposed a total ban on pork, has five board members who are lobbyists making a living off congressional pork, according to Salon magazine. The ACU board lobbyists pulled in millions in earmarks for their clients over the last few years. David Keene, a lobbyist for Survival, Inc., defends the practice of earmarking while Cleta Mitchell dodges the issue saying, “I don’t have an earmark business.”
An Honest Look at a Senator’s Family Budget:
An investigative report into Pennsylvania Republican Senator Rick Santorum’s finances reveals that he has received a home loan from a campaign contributor and used money from his political action committee in a variety of questionable ways. According to the report, published in full in the American Prospect and partially in the Philadelphia Daily News, Santorum received a second mortgage on his Herndon, Virginia mansion from Philadelphia Trust Company, “a new private bank catering to ‘affluent investors and institutions’”. The loan to Santorum is questionable because the bank’s policy is to only offer loans to clients with investment assets of $250,000 or more, a sum that Santorum does not come close to reporting in his annual personal financial filings. Santorum and his leadership PAC received $24,000 from Philadelphia Trust Company’s executives and directors. The use of funds by Santorum’s leadership PAC is also a source of intrigue. The PACs filings show numerous charges at grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and coffee shops – out of the ordinary charges for a PAC that is intended to donate money to other Republican’s campaigns.
Continue readingMalaysian Prime Minister Paid Abramoff $1.2 Million:
Ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million by the former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed to set up a meeting with President Bush, according to the Associated Press. Mahathir was persuaded by the conservative Heritage Foundation to seek the meeting because, “the conservative think tank believed he could help ‘influence (Bush) in some way regarding U.S. policies.’” Sources claim that Abramoff used his connections to White House aide Karl Rove to set up the meeting. The Malaysian government also paid $300,000 to an Abramoff connected company to lobby members of Congress and to set up trips to the country, including a 2001 trip by then-Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX). Mahathir states that he cannot recall where the money paid to Abramoff came from but that it did not come from the Malaysian government.
Continue readingFinance Committee to Probe Non-Profit Abuses:
The Senate Finance Committee received close to 100 pages of documents on the abuse of non-profits by Jack Abramoff from the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. According to Roll Call, “the Abramoff documents would be part of an ongoing probe into whether some nonprofits are violating laws by taking http://www.sunlightfoundation.com/cs/corruption Today in Corruptionon roles beyond what their tax-exempt status allows.” The Finance probe could shine unwanted light on the activities of Abramoff allies Grover Norquist and his Americans for Tax Reform and the former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed. “Reed, a self-proclaimed opponent of gambling, sometimes received payments from Abramoff — money that originated from tribes who operated wealthy casinos — after it had first been routed through Norquist’s anti-tax group or other Abramoff-linked entities.”
Continue readingAdministration Ties to Dubai Firm Questioned:
Two Bush Administration officials have ties to the Dubai firm DP World that is set to take over port security in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Miami, and Baltimore, according to the New York Daily News. The President tapped David Sanborn, the head of DP World’s European and Latin American operations, to lead the Maritime Administration last month. Also, Treasury Secretary John Snow’s former company, CSX Rail, sold its international port operations to DP World. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), “The more you look at this deal, the more the deal is called into question.”
Continue readingEarmarks Meant Business for Embattled Lobbyist:
Alleged ‘co-conspirator #1’ in the Duke Cunningham bribery investigation Brent Wilkes parlayed his ability to secure earmarks into profitable business ventures. According to the Washington Post, Wilkes found promising technology companies and made a deal with them: he would secure millions of dollars in earmarks and in return he would receive a 51 percent interest in the company. The Post reports that, “Although it is common for lobbying firms to charge clients large fees to pursue earmarks, Wilkes's demand for a majority interest in the resulting contract is highly unusual”. Wilkes did not only get Cunningham to insert earmarks for his companies. He also had Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) place a $37 million earmark into the defense budget for PerfectWave Technologies in 2002. From 2002 to 2005 Doolittle received $85,000 in campaign contributions from Wilkes.
Continue readingPresidential Earmarks Hard to Find:
The Wall Street Journal delves into the topic of Presidential earmarks, a practice that is “harder -- if not impossible -- to tally” compared to Congressional earmarks. Some Presidential earmarks are listed as line items in the budget but others are found in agency “justifications” – “staffers say the collection of ‘J-Books’ would form a pile roughly five feet high.” Notable Presidential earmarks include $24 million to the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian program and $204 million to abstinence education in public schools. James Dyer, the former staff director of the House Appropriations Committee, asserts that, “the whole faith-based initiative” is “largely implemented by executive order to fund religious groups doing social work.”
Continue readingGroups Want Rules on Ads, Elections:
The AFL-CIO, the Chamber of Commerce, and other groups are asking the FEC to write new guidelines for political activity by outside groups in the months immediately preceding elections, according to the Washington Times. In January, Wisconsin Right to Life challenged the 30- to 60-day prohibition on outside groups that take corporate or union money from running advocacy ads that mention a candidate’s name. The Supreme Court ruled that “grass-roots groups have ways to lobby and mention the name of a federal candidate without being seen as actively campaigning.” The groups petitioning the FEC are asking for guidelines on what they can or cannot do in time for the 2006 elections.
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