Do the crooked politicians ever stop?

[BIG IRISH]

Legal Fees Are Drain on Lewis' War Chest
The congressman from Redlands has paid lawyers $750,000 amid a federal lobbying probe.
By Richard Simon, Times Staff Writer
October 18, 2006


WASHINGTON — Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), the House Appropriations Committee chairman whose ties to lobbyists have come under scrutiny, has spent more than $750,000 from his campaign fund for defense lawyers, according to his latest spending report.

Federal investigators are examining Lewis' association with lobbyists who have secured millions of dollars in congressional earmarks for their clients. Lobbyists and their clients have contributed heavily to Lewis' political war chests, records show.

Legal fees were his single biggest expense for the most recent period: More than $550,000 was paid to the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher between July 1 and Sept. 30.
And he paid the firm a $200,000 retainer in June.

"Congressman Lewis has availed himself of excellent legal representation so that this matter may be resolved expeditiously while he focuses his efforts on doing the work of the people of the 41st District of California," his spokeswoman, Barbara J. Comstock, said.

"We are confident that Congressman Lewis has honorably served his cons uents and that he will be fully exonerated once this investigation is completed," Comstock said, adding that Lewis had cleared the use of campaign funds to pay legal fees with the House Ethics Committee.

His lead lawyers are Robert Bonner, who once headed the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Joseph Warin, a onetime federal prosecutor.

In a twist, U.S. Atty. Debra Wong Yang of Los Angeles, whose office has been investigating Lewis, announced Tuesday that she was resigning her federal job to join Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

She could not be reached for comment, but a spokeswoman for the law firm said Yang would have "no involvement whatsoever"
with Lewis.

Even with the legal fees, Lewis — whose challenger is so little-known and -funded that the congressman hasn't hired a campaign manager or opened a campaign office — entered the home stretch of the campaign with more than $1 million cash on hand, according to his report.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group that posted Lewis' legal fees on its website, said some of the congressman's donors "work at some of the most prolific lobby shops specializing in federal earmarks."

Earmarking is the largely secret process that committee chairs and other powerful members of the House and Senate use to insert spending directives into pending legislation without going through the normal budget review process.

The use of earmarks has soared in recent years.

....


http://www.latimes.com/news/printedi...ck=1&cset=true

What makes this all the interseting is that Mr Lewis

Congressional Quarterly reports that in a round of calls Monday evening, House Appropriations chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA)Lewis fired 60 investigators who had worked for his committee rooting out fraud, waste and abuse, effective immediately. As in, don't bother coming in on Tuesday. The investigators were contract workers, brought on to handle the extraordinary level of fraud investigations facing the panel. Sixteen permanent investigative staff are staying on.

Lewis’ decision "has in fact stalled all of the investigations on the staff," said one of the contractors, a former FBI agent, who asked not to be identified. "his eviscerates the investigatory function. There is little if any ability to do any oversight now."... "In effect, no investigative function is going to be done," said the contractor, who called the decision "misguided."

"This staff has saved billions and billions of dollars, we’ve turned up malfeasance and misfeasance," the contractor said. "It’s results justify the expense of the staff. I have no idea why the chairman would do this."

[boutons_]

"why the chairman would do this."

Repug Lewis protecting Repugs and Repug contractors, no doubt, will be repaid, quid pro quo, with more of their contributions to cover his own legal/campgaign expenses.

[BIG IRISH]

Another one?
http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...0.html?cnn=yes

Exclusive: Feds Probe a Top Democrat's Relationship with AIPAC
The Department of Justice is investigating whether Rep. Jane Harman and the pro-Israel group worked together to get her reappointed as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee
By TIMOTHY J. BURGER/WASHINGTON
SUBSCRIBE TO TIMEPRINTE-MAILMORE BY AUTHORBackground: A Web of Intrigue

Posted Friday, Oct. 20, 2006
Did a Democratic member of Congress improperly enlist the support of a major pro-Israel lobbying group to try to win a top committee assignment? That's the question at the heart of an ongoing investigation by the FBI and Justice Department prosecutors, who are examining whether Rep. Jane Harman of California and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) may have violated the law in a scheme to get Harman reappointed as the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, according to knowledgeable sources in and out of the U.S. government.

The sources tell TIME that the investigation by Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has simmered out of sight since about the middle of last year, is examining whether Harman and AIPAC arranged for wealthy supporters to lobby House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Harman's behalf.
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