(Rep. ) Lewis (R-CA, Approp Cmte CHAIR!) Surfaces in Probe of Cunningham

[johnfunk]

Happy happy joy joy!

Lewis Surfaces in Probe of Cunningham
By Peter Pae, LA Times Staff Writer

May 11, 2006
Federal prosecutors have begun an investigation into Rep. Jerry Lewis, the Californian who chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee, government officials and others said, signaling the spread of a San Diego corruption probe.

The U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles has issued subpoenas in an investigation into the relationship between Lewis (R-Redlands) and a Washington lobbyist linked to disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Rancho Santa Fe), three people familiar with the investigation said.

The investigation is part of an expanding federal probe stemming from Cunningham's conviction for accepting $2.4 million in bribes and favors from defense contractors, according to the three sources.

[gratuitous]

1. Just another isolated incident

The GOP isn't really corrupt from top to bottom, it just looks that way.

The DNC really needs to hit this culture of corruption hard. Cunningham, DeLay, Noe, Lewis, and on and on.

[MissWaverly]

14. Yes, the Rovettes are starting to sing their song

Dems did it too, well let's see, how many people were members of Clinton's administration were
arrested for shoplifting at Target, were investigated for shooting someone in the face, resigned
one day before being lead away in handcuffs related to Abramoff investigation, were indicted by a federal prosecutor during an investigation over outing a covert CIA agent

how many dems have had to resign due to criminal investigations, how many dems are now in the
slammer for illegal activities?

[saigon68]

15. Small chance of the pot calling the kettle black

or white or green or WHATEVER

[MissWaverly]

16. yes, especially when they have endangered the planet for oil

tell us again how you stonewalled the Kyoto Treaty, how the US has actually increased it's greenhouse gases, this is despite the devastation of our gulf coast, lenient epa standards
anyone?

[saigon68]

17. Yes Indeed

[MissWaverly]

18. I think that their mojo is gone

Kerry said raise taxes, deal with Iraq, Bush said everything is okay, Iraq is doing great, trust
me and now we see that things are not great and that we have been lied to. There is no rational
reason for tracking every single call made in this country, there is no reason for making
your government a whore for special interests, there is no reason for bleeding out the treasury
for payola for drugs, hookers and parties. It was no accident that Gannon was in the White
House for 2 years. This administration overlooked him w/o proper vetting when they are eavedropping on every phone call. And what about the spy in Cheney's Office, did they "overlook" that too. Or putting detailed plans for Bush trip into the garbage.
They are never going to be able to spin the there's no difference between the dems and the
republicans this time.

[Tiggeroshii]

26. What's funny is that the DCCC has barely put any money into Contreras,

the only candidate running. From this, they might actually get smart.

[yellowcanine]

2. RuhRow. The plot thickens. But of course it is a bipartisan scandal.

:sarcasm:

[AlCzervik]

3. ok waiting for Duncan Hunter to be tied to this, i know it's going to

happen, no i have no evidence but i feel it "In my gut", by the time this thing gets done there won't be any gop california house coalition left---woohoo!!

[cally]

4. Waiting for Pombo

Let's get all the crooks out.

[WhiteTara]

10. don't forget Doolittle scum

too. I think we can pick up house seats right and left because all the crooks are going to be outed this summer.

[Tiggeroshii]

25. Is pombo being investigated to this extent? n/t

[cally]

28. There's always hints that he's tied to various scandals

but I've not seen any info. to imply that an indictment is soon. A while back, Pombo was on Pelosi's list highlighting the culture of corruption. Ever since that, I've been hopeful that he's going down. We'll just have to defeat him.

[nolabels]

5. Alright!!! , U.S. Congressional corruption around at a local level

Now I skim through the local rag and notice just one more thing they're not reporting on.

I am sure a lot of them folks down in San Diego were surprised when their congressman copped a plea

[Jane Austin]

8. Wasn't it actually the San Diego Newspaper who dug around and

broke that story?

IIRC that's how the story got known.

[nolabels]

20. Maybe I'm kind of mistaken but it seemed............

It seemed the Duke had been up to crap for years and in just a few short months after the story broke he was crying on his ass off on the boob tube. Part and parcel of corporate media in on the take. In my post I wasn't really trying to impugn on the San Diego papers because I don't know too much about them. I was just getting on about up north, in the Jerry Lewis part of the state. A lot of stories that break out here are just ignored unless the national press shames them into it. It's basically if the story don't shine a good light on republicans then spin it, minimize it or even ignore it if possible.

A alleged John Conyers baby sitting story is front page news though

[Jane Austin]

29. Agreed.

That's why it was surprising and worth noting that the San Diego paper broke it.

[BuddhaGirl]

6. Cunningham is the gift that keeps on giving!

can't wait to see who's next :evilgrin:

[johnfunk]

7. Cunningham: a gift that gives even if he isn't cooperating!

I wonder who put the horse's head in Cunningham's jail bunk. Rove? Negroponte? Mehlwoman? John Fund? All of the above?

[Zynx]

9. Oh man this just keeps getting better.

[caligirl]

11. from Josh Marshall yesterday on Lewis and Cunningham,

In July 1999, co-conspirator No. 1 faxed Cunningham "talking points" on how to bully a Pentagon manager into releasing more government funds. These documents were included in Cunningham's sentencing hearing.

The memo instructed the lawmaker to demand that the Defense Department official shift money from another program to cover funds designated for ADCS. "We need $10 m more immediately," Cunningham was to tell the official.

If the official didn't cooperate, Cunningham was to say his next calls would be to two high-ranking Pentagon officials. The script called for Cunningham to add: "This is very important and if you cannot resolve this others will be calling also" — two names in this passage are blacked out in the memo. Despite Cunningham's threats, the Pentagon manager was unmoved, according to grand jury testimony.

A week later, Cunningham and Lewis called a Washington news conference to announce that they had slashed $2 billion in funding for the F-22 Raptor fighter jet, one of the Pentagon's prized programs, citing cost overruns. Both congressmen had been key supporters of the project, and their comments shocked Pentagon officials.

Within days, the same Pentagon manager who had been resistant to Cunningham's appeals sent the congressman a list of other programs where money could be "reallocated" to Wilkes' firm, according to court documents. "The Defense Department spends $1 billion a day, so the contract was like a rounding error. It just wasn't worth putting our big programs at risk," a senior Pentagon official said on condition he not be identified.

On Friday, Lewis said "there was no connection whatsoever" between his position on the F-22 program and Cunningham's effort to pressure the Pentagon on Wilkes' behalf. "If I knew about it, I would have stopped it," Lewis said.

The Pentagon agreed to send $5 million more to Wilkes' firm, according to court documents. The F-22 funds were later restored. In subsequent years, Cunningham and Lewis supported full funding for the warplane.

In May 2000, a month after his firm received the $5 million, Wilkes wrote two checks to Cunningham for a total of $100,000. These payments were used as evidence in the bribery case.

[BrotherBuzz]

12. Lewis wasn't aware of any investigation?

Funny, Doolittle, also on the Appropriations Committee, says the same thing. Doolittle has gone so far as to invite U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to investigate him. Would a guilty man do that, knowing Gonzales’ reputation for fairness and impartiality (Wink, wink, nod, nod)?

2007 is going to be the year of the four 'eyes';

Investigation
Indictment
Impeachment
Integrity

[OnionPatch]

13. I wouldn't get my hopes up

This district (Lewis' district) is so Republican that the Dems didn't even run anyone against him in 2004. There is a Dem running against him now but I hardly hear a thing about him and doubt most anyone else has, either. I doubt there's a chance in hell that he will unseat Lewis, even if Lewis is involved. :( Hate to be so negative but this is fundie-land where Democrats are considered on par with the devil himself.

[Tiggeroshii]

27. You know..

My district has had Lewis for a very long time now. When lewis first ran though, he actually had a hard time keeping the seat-the very liberal dem had it a couple terms before Lewis did.

The district has changed a lot over the decades, but if the DCCC wakes up-with everybody else, and starts supporting his opponent(Louis Contreras), we can have a real shot. the last Democrat in 2002, got about 30 percent or so against Lewis with hardly any financing. As endorsements roll in, Louie can have a real shot at this. With a name like Contreras, it is very likely he can pick up the very large hispanic population within the district that may traditionally vote Republican. I certainly have my fingers crossed and it's the assumed negating that keeps this district from being attainable. We just gotta work hard at it!

[OnionPatch]

36. You're probably right

At least I'd like to see the DCCC try. As for now, if you live around here and read the campaign signs, you'd think the major parties in the US are "Republican" and "Reagan Republican."

And thanks for the name, I had forgotten the name Contreras. He has a website, right?

Oh how I wish we could get rid of Lewis. I'm going to Contreras' site and see if I can't help at least hang up campaign signs or something.

[Tiggeroshii]

37. That would be good.

Here's a blogpost I found via wikipedia. Apparentally Contreras has been endorsed by the AFL CIO of Riverside an dSan Bernadino County. I live closer to San Bernadino so I see a lot of Baca signs up probably not far from Lewis's district. I wouldn't be surprised if some in this district are former Baca voters as well. Nonetheless, it helps for this hispanic candidate that there is a neighboring hispanic congressman with good popularity among his voters. In order to volunteer, I'm guessing it would take a phone call to the number on his site to get a hold of him...

http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2006/03/california-labor-federation-gears-up.html

[boobooday]

19. bad apples bad apples bad apples

There are only a few . . . and a few more . . . and then the rest of them . . .

[Tiggeroshii]

21. (Congressman Jerry) Lewis(R-CA) Surfaces in Probe of Cunningham

Federal prosecutors have begun an investigation into Rep. Jerry Lewis, the Californian who chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee, government officials and others said, signaling the spread of a San Diego corruption probe.

The U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles has issued subpoenas in an investigation into the relationship between Lewis (R-Redlands) and a Washington lobbyist linked to disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Rancho Santa Fe), three people familiar with the investigation said.

The investigation is part of an expanding federal probe stemming from Cunningham's conviction for accepting $2.4 million in bribes and favors from defense contractors, according to the three sources.

It is not clear where the investigation is headed or what evidence the government has. But the probe suggests that investigators are looking past Cunningham to other legislators and, perhaps, the "earmarking" system that members of Congress use to allocate funds.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-lewis11may11,1,4617700.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage&ctrack=1&cset=true

[Spirochete]

22. Dean Martin made him do it. n/t

[Tiggeroshii]

23. This makes me very happy

Gives me the possibility of having a decent congressperson in this very repug district!
I hope I hope I hope!

[Tiggeroshii]

24. What I wonder is..

How many more Repugs are in this kind of danger? The DCCC better wake up to this! Pronto! We're very close at getting a real race over here!

[lumpy]

30. I'm beginning to believe there

really is a well designed conspiracy by many far right Republicans to do anything to stay in power with the help of 'easy' corporate money passed by go-betweens.

[Robbien]

31. Feds open investigation of House chairman; he denies wrongdoing

WASHINGTON The U-S attorney's office in Los Angeles has opened an investigation into House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis and his dealings with a lobbyist with connections to disgraced former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham.
A person familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said prosecutors have issued subpoenas, but could not say to whom.

The person said the investigation is related to the ongoing probe stemming from the Cunningham scandal. Cunningham pleaded guilty in November to taking two-point-four (m) million dollars in bribes from defense contractors and others. He's serving a prison term of eight years, four months.

Lewis, a Republican from Redlands, denies any wrongdoing.

http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=4894443&nav=menu191_2

[mike_c]

32. "Lewis, a Republican..., denies any wrongdoing."

Imagine that. The GOP must hand out cards with pre-printed denial-of-wrongdoing scripts to read.

[merwin]

33. And when he is found guilty he will hold a press conference where he asks

God for forgiveness.

They're all the same...

[ShockediSay]

35. And somewhere in b/n they blame the media and politically motivated

blah blah blah

[kestrel91316]

34. Republican politician denies wrongdoing. Okay. I guess we can just

move along now and go back to investigating the naval lint of Paris Hilton. Or whatever.