Matt Yglesias at TAPPED makes a simple but important point:
One of the quirks of American society is that this is the kind of country where an intelligence official can admit to having partied with defense contractors known to bribe public officials in exchange for defense and intelligence contracts while simultaneously insisting that any allegations that prostitutes were involved is "false, outrageous and irresponsible." But though the hooker angle obviously sexes the story up for media consumption, what does it matter? Commercial sex hardly seems more wrongful than public corruption. And yet, all anyone wants to do is beat the hooker rap.Continue reading
CIA Number 3 Involved in Play-for-Pay Scandal?:
The Wall Street Journal reports today that the CIA has confirmed that K. Dusty Foggo, Executive Director of the CIA, attended "poker games in Washington, D.C., hotel hospitality suites, the use of which is the focus of a federal criminal investigation." Foggo admits to being at the poker games but denies that anything else took place. Allegations have swirled over the past week that lawmakers and CIA and Defense Department officials were using the "hospitality suites" - paid for by defense contractor Brent Wilkes - to rendevous with prostitutes. The allegations come out of a plea deal in the Duke Cunningham bribery case. Foggo stated that any accusation levied at him that involved prostitutes would be "false, outrageous and irresponsible." Justin Rood at TPM Muckraker points out that Foggo has "ties to Wilkes that go back more than 30 years, and have stretched as far as Central America and the Middle East."
Continue readingIn Blog Daylight:
- Brent Wilkes, co-conspirator #1 in the Duke Cunningham scandal, is going to put a fight, according to TPM Muckaraker, and not plead guilty. That's good news for a bevy of congressmen who call Wilkes a friend. Wilkes would be facing a number of charges in a federal corruption case. And after today's revelations in the Wall Street Journal it looks like that could include being a pimp. As they say, pimpin' ain't easy.
- Boddington at Redstate.org writes about Appropriations Chair Jerry Lewis' (R-CA) attempt to kill the ethics reform bill before the House. Lewis is urging Appropriations members to vote against the reform because of his opposition to the earmark reform in it. Lewis claims that the earmark reform unfairly targets his committee while letting other committees continue to earmark unrestricted. Boddington is highly skeptical of Lewis' argument and quotes Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who calls Lewis' attempt to change the bill "a poison pill." Continue reading
Scandal Checklist:
Bribery? Check! Shady defense contractors with possible connections to domestic spying? Check! Congressman behind bars? Check! And finally, hookers? Check! If scandals were judged like Olympic contests I'd have to give this one a 9.1. Anyways, go read Justin Rood for more. Here's a couple paragraphs from the Wall Street Journal article:
Mr. Wade in February pleaded guilty to giving bribes of more than $1 million to Mr. Cunningham, including cash, antiques and payment for yachts. Mr. Wade, who hasn't been sentenced yet, is cooperating with prosecutors. According to people with knowledge of the investigation, Mr. Wade told investigators that Mr. Cunningham periodically phoned him to request a prostitute, and that Mr. Wade then helped to arrange for one. A limousine driver then picked up the prostitute as well as Mr. Cunningham, and drove them to one of the hotel suites, originally at the Watergate Hotel, and subsequently at the Westin Grand. Mr. Wade told investigators that all the arrangements for these services had been made by Mr. Wilkes and two employees of Mr. Wilkes's company, according to people with knowledge of his debriefing. He said Mr. Wilkes had rented the hotel suites and found the limousine driver, who had "relationships" with several escort services. Mr. Wade told prosecutors that sometimes Mr. Cunningham would contact him to request these services, and he would pass on the request to Mr. Wilkes or his employees, who then made the actual arrangement. Mr. Wade said that other times Mr. Cunningham called Mr. Wilkes directly to make the requests.The FBI is looking into whether other lawmakers benefited from this arrangement as well. Continue reading
Defense Department Opened Investigation into Contractor in 2000:
The Department of Defense opened a criminal investigation into the activities of defense contractor Brent Wilkes, now under federal investigation for his role in bribing jailed ex-Rep. Duke Cunningham, back in 2000 that began with an anonymous tip, according to Roll Call. In the Defense Criminal Investigation Service report a Defense Department official, “Official D,” details “an attempt by Cunningham to pressure him into allowing payment of $750,000 for five allegedly fraudulent invoices submitted to the Pentagon in 1998 and 1999.” Justice Department documents show that the invoices came from Wilkes and his company, ADCS. The DCIS made a criminal referral to the Justice Department that was not taken up by the U.S. Attorney in San Diego. Wilkes paid Cunningham his first bribe the month before “Official D” was interviewed.
Continue readingContractor Pleads Guilty in Congressional Bribery Case:
Mitchell Wade, the head of the Washington firm MZM, Inc., pleaded guilty “to his role in lavishing more than $1 million in gifts on a California congressman,” according to the Associated Press. That congressman, Duke Cunningham, resigned from Congress after pleading guilty to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from Wade and the San Diego defense contractor Brent Wilkes. Wade’s bribes to Cunningham included purchasing the congressman’s house at a price inflated by $700,000 and buying him a $140,000 yacht, nicknamed the ‘Dukestir’. Wilkes and the other co-conspirators – Thomas Kontogiannis and John T. Michael – have yet to plead in the case.
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.
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