Over the past several years,  Nevada's Governor Jim Gibbons (R) has been a frequent subject of interest for CREW and this blog.  Last year, on March 30, 2007, we wrote this post:

Today, by way of TPM Muckraker, we learn of yet another development:

The wife of Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons was hired as a consultant to a defense contractor at the same time that her husband, who was then a member of Congress, helped the company get funding for a no-bid federal contract.

Dawn Gibbons got about $35,000 in consulting fees in 2004 from Sierra Nevada Corp., of Sparks, Nev., the company said. Mr. Gibbons, a five-term Republican who served on the armed services and intelligence committees, sought funding that year for Sierra Nevada for a $4 million contract to develop a helicopter radar-landing system.

Suffice it say, we strongly suspect we'll be hearing even more about Gov. Gibbons.

In fact, we are hearing more about Gov. Gibbons and that consulting arrangement for his wife.  We learning this because Mrs. Gibbons is divorcing her husband and has filed papers discussing his controversies:

Yet the new filing also makes reference to several controversies involving the governor leading up to and since his 2006 election. Mr. Gibbons was accused in October 2006 of assaulting a cocktail waitress in a Las Vegas parking garage weeks before the election, a charge he denied. Mrs. Gibbons’ decision to stand by her husband was credited as critical to his winning the close election.

In Mrs. Gibbons’ filing, she states that the waitress bears a “striking resemblance” to the woman she believes is her husband’s mistress and noted that the waitress, “like his wife now, was trashed” by Mr. Gibbons’ operatives.

Dunlap hinted that more information about the couple’s shared political life may yet come to light.

“This is a divorce action and it has to do with matters considered in a divorce,” he said. “Some of the stuff that he’s become embroiled in would become irrelevant, but other matters might be relevant.”

Last fall, the Wall Street Journal took an in-depth look at the earmarks in the intelligence budget often called the "black budget" because of the secrecy surrounding those expenditures. The WSJ focused on the earmarks in that budget secured by then-Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-NV).

Earmarks in that budget are no longer secret according to The Hill:

In a break with tradition, Congress has revealed close to $80 million in earmarks boosting spy technology and training as part of the 2008 defense appropriations bill.

Both the aggregate intelligence budget and intelligence-related earmarks were secret until this year. President Bush signed into law in August a bill that enacted many of the Sept. 11 commission’s recommendations, including a provision declassifying the intelligence budget total. In October, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said that the fiscal 2007 budget for spy agencies, excluding military intelligence, came to $43.5 billion.

Earmarks in the intelligence budget were at the center of the bribery case of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham:

The disclosure of member projects comes a year after former Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.) went to jail for taking bribes in exchange of directing funding to companies in the intelligence portion of the defense bill. According to media reports, the government already spends close to 70 percent of its intelligence budget on private contracts, so it is not surprising that most earmarks in the bill benefit contractors.

Governor Gibbons is off to a "rocky start" in the according to a profile on the front page of today's New York Times. CREW's primary interest in Gibbons is his potentially unethical dealings while a member of Congress:

Mr. Gibbons is the subject of a Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry into whether he failed to report gifts from a military contractor while serving in Congress. The governor, who would not be interviewed, has denied wrongdoing, and once suggested that Democratic operatives might have paid off newspaper reporters who have written about his troubles with the F.B.I.

In February, the Wall Street Journal broke the news that Gibbons was facing a federal investigation -- and had more details about why:

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons accepted unreported gifts or payments from a company that was awarded secret military contracts when Mr. Gibbons served in Congress.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining whether any gifts or payments violated federal contracting rules or were offered in exchange for official acts by Mr. Gibbons, people briefed on the investigation said. Mr. Gibbons, a Republican, represented Nevada for five terms in Congress, where he served on the House Intelligence and Armed Services committees, and was sworn in as governor last month.

Last March, we reported that Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons was prepared to cooperate with the FBI.  Looks like he may get that chance.  NBC is reporting that FBI is, in fact, investigating the former Congressman over his relationship with a defense contractor:

The new governor of Nevada, Jim Gibbons, is being investigated by the FBI because of alleged gifts and payments from Warren Trepp, a defense contractor whose Nevada firm received tens of millions of dollars in federal contracts.

The FBI wants to know if Gibbons, while a member of Congress, improperly used his influence to help Trepp get those contracts. 

Sources close to the investigation say a key focus is a lavish week-long Caribbean cruise in March 2005 by Gibbons, his wife and son, and Trepp, who paid for almost everything. In photos obtained by NBC News, Gibbons is seen hamming it up — kicking back with a drink and posing with his wife, Dawn, Trepp and Trepp's other guests.

The Wall Street Journal has had several reports on the ethically-challenged dealings of former Nevada U.S. Representative, now Governor, Jim Gibbons. We've reported them here and here.

Today, by way of TPM Muckraker, we learn of yet another development:

The wife of Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons was hired as a consultant to a defense contractor at the same time that her husband, who was then a member of Congress, helped the company get funding for a no-bid federal contract.

Dawn Gibbons got about $35,000 in consulting fees in 2004 from Sierra Nevada Corp., of Sparks, Nev., the company said. Mr. Gibbons, a five-term Republican who served on the armed services and intelligence committees, sought funding that year for Sierra Nevada for a $4 million contract to develop a helicopter radar-landing system.

Suffice it say, we strongly suspect we'll be hearing even more about Gov. Gibbons.

Guess it's a good thing that the Governor, who is under investigation by the FBI, is willing to cooperate with the FBI: 

Lawyers for Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons, facing an FBI probe into his dealings as a congressman with wealthy Reno software contractor, campaign donor and friend Warren Trepp, say Gibbons wants them to "cooperate with any investigation."

Gibbons has denied that he accepted payments or gifts from Trepp in exchange for helping him get defense contracts while Gibbons was a member of Congress.

Trepp, a former chief trader for convicted junk-bond dealer Michael Milken, also has denied any wrongdoing.

Given some of the e-mails that have appeared in this case discussing gifts or payments to Gibbons, the Governor probably does have some explaining to do to the FBI -- and his constituents. 

21.

According to the ABC News blog, The Blotter, that's how many members of the 109th Congress are facing investigations with the revelation that former Nevada Congressman, now Nevada Governor, Jim Gibbons is under investigation.

Last November, the Wall Street Journal ran an extensive investigative report on the dealings between then-Congressman Jim Gibbons (R-NV) and federal government contractor Warren Trepp. That article exposed the potential for abuse of secret earmarks in budgets relating to intelligence. The FBI is now investigating whether federal laws were violated in that relationship today's WSJ reports:

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons accepted unreported gifts or payments from a company that was awarded secret military contracts when Mr. Gibbons served in Congress.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining whether any gifts or payments violated federal contracting rules or were offered in exchange for official acts by Mr. Gibbons, people briefed on the investigation said. Mr. Gibbons, a Republican, represented Nevada for five terms in Congress, where he served on the House Intelligence and Armed Services committees, and was sworn in as governor last month.

According to the paper, "new evidence has emerged" including emails that discuss " a payment or gift" to Gibbons. Stay tuned. This one isn't over yet.

This pre-election altercation is ending with no criminal charges against the Governor-elect of Nevada. And, it looks like there won't be a civil trial either according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Gov.-elect Jim Gibbons will not be prosecuted on allegations that he assaulted cocktail waitress Chrissy Mazzeo three weeks before Election Day, but authorities are continuing to investigate whether anyone attempted to influence Mazzeo's statements to authorities.

District Attorney David Roger said Wednesday that before deciding not to pursue the case, he met with Mazzeo and conducted an extensive review of Mazzeo's allegations that Gibbons grabbed her in a parking garage and threatened to sexually assault her after a night of drinking on Oct. 13 at the McCormick & Schmick's restaurant, near Flamingo Road at Paradise Road.

"We review cases to determine if there is sufficient evidence to go forward at trial, and we felt we did not have a provable case," Roger said. "We looked at the totality of the evidence in making our decision."

Mazzeo was disappointed with Roger's decision. "The only thing I can say is our system sucks," the 32-year-old Las Vegas Valley resident said. "I actually even said that if he (Gibbons) apologized to me, I would drop everything. And he wasn't man enough to actually apologize. But he knows the truth, and I know the truth."

So, this scandal for Gibbons appears to be over.

Earlier this week, a Wall Street Journal investigative report revealed that, in addition to securing covert earmarks for an associate, Jim Gibbons took a cruise that was paid for by that same associate/campaign donor. The trip was not approved by the Ethics Commission nor reported on disclosure forms as required by House rules. But, it's not his fault:

Rep. Jim Gibbons blamed a "clerical error made in my office" to explain why he did not seek permission under House ethics rules to accept a vacation cruise from a friend and political donor who also benefited from federal defense contracts, according to a document made public Thursday.

The Republican congressman told the House Ethics Committee the Caribbean trip that he and his wife, Dawn, and their teenage son took was valued at $12,419.50.

Gibbons is seeking a waiver from the Ethics Committee because he thinks he's not responsible for violating the rules. Heck, Gibbons admitted he didn't understand the rules. Melanie Sloan thinks that shows the utter weakness of ethics regulation in the House:

Gibbons' attempt to gain a waiver after the fact shows flaws in how Congress polices itself, said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group.

"There is not a rule providing for it, nor a rule that does not allow it," Sloan said. "But it does not pass the smell test. If they were to give this to him, it would just emphasize what a joke the Ethics Committee is."

Chances are we will see one more time what a joke the Ethics Committee is.