Rep. Calvert, under FBI investigation, replaces Rep. Doolittle, under FBI investigation, on House Approps. Committee
From The Hill:
The House Republican Steering Committee appointed Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) to fill an open Appropriations Committee seat that has been vacated by embattled Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.).
Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced the change in a statement and congratulated Calvert.
Prior to the selection, questions had been raised about whether Calvert should be appointed to the committee because of allegations that he helped facilitate the passage of an earmark to benefit himself financially. The lawmaker has denied any wrongdoing.
That doesn't show much of a commitment to ethics. Ironically, given that Rep. Doolittle was forced out of his seat because of the raid, the FBI has been investigating Rep. Calvert for nearly a year.
Melanie Sloan, made the following statement on Calvert's appointment:
Clearly the House Republicans have decided that ethics simply do not count in Congress. Why would the minority choose to replace one member under federal investigation with another member also under federal investigation? While Rep. Calvert has not yet had his home raided, the FBI is probing his conduct. No member of Congress under investigation by the Department of Justice should have the authority to make budgetary decisions about that agency. Rep. Calvert is the wrong person to take over Rep. Doolittle’s appropriations committee seat.
Similarly, Republicans continue to demonstrate their indifference to ethics by allowing Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), also under federal investigation and the ranking member of the appropriations committee, to remain in his post. It is well past time for Rep. Lewis relinquish his plum assignment pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation.
Both Calvert and Doolittle were named in Beyond DeLay, CREW's list of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress.
stolen oil
Maybe the CIA can tell us where all that oil that was stolen in Irag went. Maybe they know something about that.
I mean, if the "I" stands for intelligence.
Was Foggo a Bush Appointee?
If his best friend was a
If his best friend was a defense contractor the answer is probably yes.
the 20 most corrupt members of Congress.
Congressional ethics is like chicken teeth - hard to find.
Unbelieveable
just simply unbelieveable.
Unbelieveable contempt for the nation.
Unbelieveable, mystifying, incredible stupidity
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New charges filed against
New charges filed against former top CIA official, contractor
By ALLISON HOFFMAN
Fresno Bee
05/11/07 16:01:19
New charges have been filed alleging that the CIA's former No. 3 official used his influence in that role to support a proposed $100 million government contract for his best friend, a defense contractor, in return for lavish vacations, private jet flights and a lucrative job offer.
The indictment, returned Thursday by a federal grand jury in San Diego, supersedes charges brought in February against career CIA man Kyle "Dusty" Foggo and Poway-based contractor Brent Wilkes. The charges grew from the bribery scandal that landed former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham in prison.
Foggo resigned from the spy agency a year ago, after his house and office were raided by federal agents. He is the highest-ranking CIA officer to be charged with crimes allegedly committed while working for the agency.
The pair now face 30 wide-ranging counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.
According to the new indictment, Foggo provided Wilkes with "sensitive, internal information related to our national security," including classified information, to help him prepare proposals for providing undercover flights for the CIA under the guise of a civil aviation company and armored vehicles for agency operations. Foggo allegedly then pushed his CIA colleagues to hire Wilkes' companies without disclosing their longstanding friendship.
In a June 2005 e-mail to the head of CIA air operations quoted in the indictment, Foggo offered to "use some 'EXDIR grease'" on Wilkes' behalf - apparently a reference to his title as the agency's executive director.
Prosecutors say that in return, Wilkes offered to hire Foggo after he retired from government service. In the meantime, he allegedly treated his friend to a Scottish golf trip during which they racked up a $44,000 hotel bill at the luxurious Pitcastle Estate.
Details in the indictment show that the arrangement between the two men began deteriorating in the summer of 2005, as the federal investigation into Cunningham began to envelop Wilkes. Foggo, who hosted a lunch in the CIA dining room for Wilkes in February of that year, allegedly instructed a CIA employee not to hire his friend after federal agents raided Wilkes Corp. offices in August.
Elsewhere in the indictment, prosecutors allege Foggo asked Wilkes to enlist Cunningham's help in obtaining an immigration visa on behalf of an acquaintance who later worked with Wilkes to provide water deliveries to the CIA.
The initial indictment in February charged the pair with 11 counts of the same charges in connection with a $1.7 million water-supply contract Foggo allegedly helped win for one of Wilkes' companies while he was working as a logistics coordinator at a CIA supply hub overseas.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to those charges. They face arraignment on the new charges on Monday.
Wilkes is charged in a separate indictment with conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and unlawful monetary transactions to Cunningham in return for government contracts.
That indictment was also superseded by the grand jury to include new charges against a second defendant, Long Island mortgage banker John T. Michael, who was described as a co-conspirator in Cunningham's 2005 plea agreement. He has already pleaded not guilty to one count of obstructing justice but now faces additional counts of money laundering and unlawful monetary transactions.