Culture of Corruption Scandal Vomits Up More Members Of Congress

A DWT oldie but goodie

Seth Hettena has been more on top of the Mitch Wade corruption case than anyone else and today he revealed who the 5 members of Congress are that Wade ratted out. Last week we speculated that they were the two obvious ones, Virgil Goode (R-VA) and Katherine Harris (R-FL) plus some combination of Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Tom Delay (R-TX), Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Elizabeth Dole (R-NC). We were on target with Goode, Harris and Lewis, all of whom should have been rotting in prison cells by now, but the other two were Democrats, Senator Dan Inouye (HI) and Congressman Alan Mollohan (WV).

The Inouye and Lewis connections involve Wade’s former employer, defense contractor Brent Wilkes, who introduced Wade to Cunningham.

During his trial, Wilkes testified that it was a “total misrepresentation” to say he relied on the Congressman Cunningham to do everything for him; Jerry Lewis, along with Rep. John Porter of Ill., were far more important, Wilkes said. (There’s excellent background on Lewis’ lobbying operation here.) The U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles reportedly opened an investigation into Lewis back in 2006.

By contrast, Inouye, the Senate’s third-most senior Democrat, hasn’t yet been linked to an investigation of “corruption similar to Mr. Cunningham.” Wilkes was seeking the veteran Senate  appropriator’s help in lining up military and government contracts for his Honolulu document conversion subsidiary, Akamai Info Tech. Inouye was also one of more than a dozen members of Congress Wilkes unsuccessfully attempted to subpoena for his trial last year.

Mollohan’s ties to Wade are more direct. He received $23,000 in campaign contributions and gifts to a family foundation from Wade’s company, MZM Inc., and another firm that did business with MZM. In October 2002, MZM gave $20,000 to Mollohan’s Summit PAC.

No wonder Inouye was so adamant about defending Alaska's crooked senator, Ted Stevens. Maybe they can be cellies. Let's hope Inouye resigns as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee this evening-- although I'll happily cover any and all bets on that one.

Michell Wade Thinks He's Ratted Out Enough Republicrooks So As Not To Serve A Day In Jail

Goode lost his House seat. Is prison next?

It's kind of an unwritten law etched into stone that members of Congress don't get indicted within x number of days before an election. They make themselves some pretty helpful rules for themselves, don't they? Anyway, the election is over and "x number of days" is less than 2 years so... suddenly crooked Republican contractor/lobbyist, Mitchell Wade has something of great value: information on a number of congressmen who he bribed during the Tom Delay go-go Culture of Corruption years. Today's Washington Post says he's given the goods to the Feds of five congressmen other than the already convicted and imprisoned Duke Cunningham, currently awaiting a pardon from George Bush.

Wade, who is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 15, faces a minimum of nine years in prison. Instead, based primarily on his cooperation with government investigators, he is seeking to have that sentence reduced to "a year of home detention, a fine of $250,000, five years probation and substantial community service," according to the sentencing memorandum filed on his behalf by his attorney, Howard M. Shapiro.

So everyone is running around asking who are the other 3 (besides Virgil Goode and Katherine Harris). Presumably another one is John Doolittle. That leaves two. Prime suspects are Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Tom Delay (R-TX), Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Elizabeth Dole (R-NC). Seth Hettena, one of the first journalists to get his teeth into the Cunningham case and Wade's role in it, thinks Wade may have spilled the beans on bigger fish than a mere member of Congress... like the Director of National Intelligence, John McConnell.

TWO OF CUNNINGHAM'S BRIBERS, WILKES AND WADE, EXPERIENCE SOME DISCOMFITURE

Wade & Goode-- If there's a briber isn't there also a bribee?

Yesterday, in two somewhat-- albeit distantly-- related matters, Brent Wilkes and Mitchell Wade, two sleazy, crooked Republican contractors, went through a tough day. Wilkes, who is being tried in San Diego for bribing Cunningham, saw his case go to the jury. "Prosecutor Jason Forge said Wilkes' claims of innocence were preposterous and disputed that there were legitimate explanations for gifts and money given to Cunningham."

Even though the prosecutor was fairly inept when Wilkes took the stand, there is such a preponderance of evidence against him that it is still likely he will be found guilty. Interestingly, at one point he claimed-- something I have said for 2 years-- that he was getting more out of Jerry Lewis (R-CA), a far bigger crook than Cunningham, and ten times as corrupt-- than he was out of the Dukester.

Closing arguments began at 2:45 p.m. Prosecutor Sanjay Bhandari gave a very succinct, calm and, I thought, effective closing argument. He said the case boiled down to a question of whether Wilkes gave Cunningham things of value for influence and then tried to hide it. Wilkes friendship with Cunningham, Bhandari said, was a cultivated one, motivated by an attempt to get something back from the congressman. Every time Wilkes wanted something from Cunningham, a bribe changed hands. Wilkes’ defense was a cover story concocted long ago. For him to be telling the truth, a long list of people have to be lying.

A very animated Mark Geragos told jurors that the only lies they have heard were ones the government had been telling them, based on the testimony of admitted felons like Mitch Wade.

Ah, yes... Mitch Wade. He had a bad day too. Yesterday, as the result of a complaint filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Federal Election Commission announced the second largest fine in FEC history -- $1,000,000-- has been imposed against Wade and his company MZM for illegally funnelling campaign contributions/bribes to crooked Republicans Virgil Goode (VA) and Katherine Harris (FL).

CUNNINGHAM MOVES CLOSER TO PRISON SENTENCE. FEDERAL PROSECUTORS SAY HE DEMANDED AND RECEIVED A BRIBE

Republicrook and rightwing extremist Randy "Duke" Cunningham still hasn't resigned from Congress, although he announced he wouldn't run for re-election. Cunnigham is still sitting on the ultra-sensitive Defense Appropriations Sub-Committee and the Intelligence Committee, although it was his positions on these two committees that have brought him millions of dollars in bribes from defense contractors and others to whom he was able to peddle his influence. Tom DeLay's completely and seriously crooked Ethics Committee Chairman, "Doc" Hastings (R-WA) still hasn't opened an inquiry into Cunningham's unbelievably corrupt practices, although federal prosecutors seem to be on the verge on handcuffing him and dragging him off to jail. And Cunningham still isn't in prison but that is clearly coming. One must wonder if Bush will pardon Cunningham who was also selling presidential pardons to corrupt Republican donors for Bush ($400,000 a pop).

According to court documents filed yesterday by federal prosecutors, ol' "Duke" demanded and received a bribe from Mitchell Wade, owner of defense contractor MZM, Inc who seems to have funnelled millions of dollars Cunningham's way in return for an opportunity for the type of major war profiteering that better Americans were shot for in the not so distant past. The court papers filed in this case, the result of a grand jury investigation, is only the first of many probes into Cunningham's criminal corruption. It is clear Cunningham will soon be facing serious formal charges.

"DUKE" SCANDAL LOOKING WORSE & WORSE EVERYDAY-- FOR "DUKE" AND KATHERINE HARRIS!!!

Powerful Republicrook California Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham screamed like a stuck pig when FBI agents showed up at his ill-gotten San Diego suburban mansion with search warrants this week. His sleazy lawyers, K. Lee Blalack II and Mark Holscher, issued a statement calling the search of Cunningham's home in Rancho Santa Fe "an appalling abuse of government power" because the congressman agreed Monday to cooperate with a federal grand jury subpoena seeking essentially the same documents. "They will apparently not take yes for an answer and have instead opted to use strong arm tactics that were designed to generate headlines," the lawyers said. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that reams of evidence that would land Cunningham in prison have already been shredded. I wonder if the sleazy lawyers knew. I wonder if the sleazy lawyers recommended it.

"Duke's" partner in crime, GOP contributor/Cunningham briber/owner of defense-contracting firm MZM, Mitchell Wade, has been letting ole "Duke" use his luxurious 42 foot yacht as the corrupt right-wing congressman's DC home. Don't you wish someone would let you live rent-free? Well they won't-- unless, like ole "Duke" did, you can deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in military contracts without competitive bidding. Who does Randy Cunningham think he is? Dick Cheney? George Bush? Anyway, in 2002 Wade bought the fancy yacht, renamed it "Duke-Stir," and has been letting Cunningham live in it rent-free ever since (or until 2 weeks ago when Cunningham abandoned ship like the rat he is as the Feds started closing in on his nefarious schemes).

Meanwhile MZM is pulling the old right-wing trick of hiding behind the U.S. flag these kinds of crooks always use. After the FBI took over MZM's DC offices Friday, a statement was issued saying "The search warrant process will not impede the ability of MZM's more than four hundred employees to continue to carry out critical national security support missions for our government." (Last week the Pentagon canceled a major contract with MZM but apparently Cunningham has been helping them quite a bit and there are still other contracts they've illegally obtained.)

According to the Washington Post two sources have confirmed that as the Cunningham bribe scandal started breaking one of Wade's flunkies "shredded a large stack of documents on the third floor of MZM's Washington headquarters." Wade snuck into the building when he wasn't supposed to be there and personally oversaw the shredding to protect his and Cunningham's asses. Later the same day Wade was allowed to leave the office with more documents.

The Post did some research on Wade and MZM and it shows that Wade's company was floundering until he started paying bribes to Cunningham, who is a powerful and influential member of the House Armed Service Appropriations Subcommittee and the House Intelligence Committee, in 2002. From 1993 until 2002 MZM was a complete failure. In 2002 he purchased "Duke-Ster" (the yacht) and "Duke" (the congressman) and everything suddenly turned around for him. And the millions and millions of taxpayer dollars started rolling in. In fact, one of the first big jobs MZM got was a sweetheart deal to provide $140,000 worth of furniture to Bush's Executive Office of President. Meanwhile, MZM employees have gone to the Feds with complaints that they were pressured into kicking back part of their salaries as contributions to extreme right-wing politicians and allies of Bush and Cunningham (like to Katherine Harris, who was given $50,000 after she helped steal Florida for Bush in the 2000 presidential election when she was his state campaign chairperson AND Secretary of State).

NOOSE CLOSING AROUND "DUKE" CUNNINGHAM

I suppose if "Duke" Cunningham chains himself to the desk he uses when Congress is in session, some kind of congressional immunity can keep him out of prison for a while. Otherwise, it looks like one of the most extreme and venal right wing loons west of Texas will be in the federal pen pretty soon. Today FBI agents searched his San Diego suburban mansion, a yacht belonging to the defense contractor who's been bribing him (and, in return, receiving extremely lucrative/no-bid contracts from the Pentagon), and the offices of MZM Inc, the company which has benefited so handsomely since it's owner, Mitchell Wade, started paying off Cunningham. Through his attorney Cunningham called the FBI raids "an appalling abuse of power by the government," although earlier he had claimed he would cooperate with the investigation (which apparently meant he would cooperate on his own terms so long as there was no chance of anyone finding any incriminating evidence). "Duke's" attorney called the FBI raids "strong-arm tactics."

In previous entries I went into the mechanics of how Wade paid off Cunningham (through a grossly inflated sale price for Duke's house). I think I neglected to mention that old "Duke" lives on Wade's yacht when he's in DC and doesn't pay rent (just the service and maintenance fees), which is a clear violation of congressional ethics rules. Looks like another job for Doc Hastings to keep from ever seeing the light of day! This guy's gotta be busy keeping all his buddies from being censured and kicked out of Congress!

CUNNINGHAM-- A STEP CLOSER TO PRISON?

I want to update my report from June 14th on Republicrook Congressman "Duke" Cunningham's bribery case. This is finally making it into the mainstream media and things have suddenly taken a turn for the worse for the powerful extreme right-wing congressman from the San Diego suburbs. Just to recap, briefly, ole "Duke," who sits on the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, sold his house to a Republican scam-artist pal of his, Mitchell Wade, who immediately turned around and sold it for a huge loss. Smells like a bribe to me, especially when you consider that Wade just happens to own a shady DC-based company called MZM Inc. which does the kind of classified work for the military that is overseen by ole "Duke's" committtees. And coincidences never seem to stop in this case. Just before Wade paid Cunningham off, MZM was floundering and just after the pay-off, he won some huge military contracts and he quadrupled the size of his staff-- and started raking in the dough, in fact, tripling his annual revenue. (Even in DeLay-world this kind of bribery is illegal.) Anyway, Associated Press is reporting today that a federal grand jury has subpoenaed documents from ole "Duke" related to the sale of his house to Wade. I forgot to mention that when Wade paid "Duke" $1,700,000 for his house and then turned it around for $1,000,000 a year later, the San Diego area was experiencing a 25% RISE in average home prices. And when ole "Duke," pointed out that the house's value had been determined by an "independent" appraiser, well, surprise, surprise, it turns out the appraiser is another Republicrook contributor to ole "Duke's" campaigns.

Meanwhile, the Defense Department has halted orders this month on MZM's $153 million contract after the department's inspector general was forced to admit that the awarding of the contract violated the Pentagon's own rules on competitive bidding. The Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, another notorious crook and a long-time croney of "Duke's," Congressman Jerry Lewis, a right wing clown from the Big Bear/high desert area of Southern California, said Tuesday that programs approved under his leadership "passed the smell test." Neither Lewis nor Cunningham passes any smell tests-- unless you're looking for skunks. When we have young men and women dying in ill-conceived, badly executed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, many complaining of shoddy or non-existent materials they need for effective fighting, it is more than criminal to be bilking the defense budgets. It's called "war profiteering"-- a standard and traditional means of amassing wealth in the Bush family. War-profiteering is treason.

WILL DUKE CUNNINGHAM BUNK WITH DELAY AND NOE IN THE FEDERAL PEN?

I know I keep writing about the Republicrook coin scandal in Ohio. I have nothing against Ohio. It's the home of the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. It's unfortunate that it's a one-party state (like Zimbabwe) but they have some swell folks there, despite Noe and Ney. Meanwhile closer to where I live there's some funny business completely unrelated-- well at least not DIRECTLY related-- to the Republican scandals in Ohio. Do you know who Randy "Duke" Cunningham is? No? He's the long-time congressman from suburban northern San Diego County. He has a long long record of being one of the most extreme right-wing loons the U.S. Congress has ever seen. (And if you take a look at the U.S. Congress, that is saying A LOT!) Cunningham can always be counted on to oppose anything that helps working people and support anything that helps the ultra-rich and the wealthy multinational corporations that donate generously to his campaigns, some would say overly generously. In fact, a defense contractor recently took a $700,000 loss on the purchase of the congressman's Del Mar house while the congressman, a member of the influential defense appropriations subcommittee, was supporting the contractor's efforts to get tens of millions of dollars in contracts from the Pentagon. Republican Mitch Wade bought "Duke's"
house for $1,675,000 in November 2003 and immediately put it back on the market for the same price. But the Del Mar house languished unsold and vacant for nearly a year before he was able to sell it for $975,000. Interestingly, good ole Wade, who hadn't been too successful in getting any lucrative tax-payer-funded Pentagon contracts, had a real winning streak happen around then-- bringing in tens of millions of dollars in defense and intelligence-related contracts. What was Bush lecturing Africans the other day about good governance and ending corruption in their countries?