When CREW named Rep. Jerry Lewis as one of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress in our September 2006 report, Beyond DeLay [1], we noted the relationship between Lewis and Brent Wilkes. We also pointed noted the federal investigation under way because of that relationship:

Rep. Lewis is also under investigation because of his dealings with the same contractors who had ties to former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-CA). After Rep. Cunningham pleaded guilty, Rep. Lewis resisted an independent investigation of Rep. Cunningham’s activities on the Appropriations Committee, stating that his own personal informal review of Rep. Cunningham’s earmarks was satisfactory and that the earmarks Rep. Cunningham doled out were legitimate. In total, Rep. Lewis has received $88,252 from Brent Wilkes and his associates, making him the third-highest recipient of campaign contributions from Mr. Wilkes, after Rep. Cunningham and Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA).

If Rep. Lewis has traded legislative assistance for campaign contributions, he may be charged with bribery and honest services fraud and may have violated House rules prohibiting the dispensation of special favors and acting in a manner that brings discredit to the House.

Now, that Wilkes has been indicted, there is speculation in the media that Lewis could at risk. TPM Muckraker [2] points to a WSJ article [3] (sub. reqd.) fanning that speculation:

The indictment and its details would seem to heighten the risk to other members of Congress still under investigation; Mr. Wilkes also had dealings with several of them.

A separate federal criminal investigation of Rep. Jerry Lewis, the California Republican who until January 2006 was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, is continuing in Los Angeles. Prosecutors in that case are looking at Mr. Lewis's relationship with Mr. Wilkes, which included campaign contributions from Mr. Wilkes and associates and the hiring by Mr. Wilkes of a lobbying firm founded by one of Mr. Lewis's closest friends, former Rep. Bill Lowery.