Several Congressmen implicated in Cunningham Bribe Scandal
What determines how a US CongressCritter votes? What if you could offer a “Hospitality suite” with several bedrooms?
And if you want lucrative contracts, you’d better give $630,000 to a “lobbying firm” run by Tom Delay’s Ex-Chief of Staff or “Delay’s going to screw you.” Brent Wilkes ran a firm called ADCS- they perfom “Document conversion services” - they scan stuff into a computer, and Brent gets million dollar contracts for scanning stuff, like a $10 million job to scan blueprints of public buildings in Panama- just in case the Chinese invade- I kid you not. What’s even worse is that the Undersecretary of Defense at the time wanted the money for more important projects, but “two Congressman” over-ruled him.
This article from the San Diego Union-Tribune documents how “the wheels are greased” in our current, corrupt political system. (or Bellaciao.org)
House Speaker Dennis Hastert also flew on Wilkes’ jet several times, sources say, although Hastert’s expense records show no payments for such trips.
The Speaker of the House took vacations with a guy who ran a DC Brothel… I wonder who was on the plane and at the resort with Mr. Speaker…
Other Wilkes buddies include GW Bush (Wilkes was State Finance Co-Chair) and Gov. Arnold:
“Other than Wilkes’ donations to federal campaigns, his biggest contributions went to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Besides helping coordinate the Schwarzenegger campaign’s finance activities in San Diego County during the 2003 recall election, Wilkes and his wife donated $42,400 to Schwarzenegger, the maximum allowable. The next year, Wilkes allowed Schwarzenegger to use ADCS’ headquarters as a local office for his 2004 workers’ compensation initiative campaign.
Schwarzenegger appointed Wilkes as a board member of the Del Mar Race Track Board in 2004 and the State Race Track Leasing Commission this year.”
Donated money = appointed board member- isn’t that a direct link, no investigation necessary. The Governator should be ousted today.
But how do we know Wilkes was scamming? Did he really provide services worth his price? No he took the money and partied:
In 1999, Wilkes and his wife bought a $1.5 million home in the Poway hills. He soon bought a second home: a $283,500 town house in the Virginia suburbs near Washington, D.C. During his visits to Washington, he made his rounds in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes. At the Capital Grille, a favored hangout of legislators and lobbyists, he rented a personalized wine locker with his best friend Foggo.
Wilkes spread his taxpayer-provided funds throughout his company, taking executives on periodic retreats to Hawaii and Idaho.
In Honolulu, Wilkes stayed at suites at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel or rented the beachfront mansion of the late hairstyling mogul Paul Mitchell, which typically goes for $50,000 a week.
Is this not proof that he was robbing US blind, charging millions for a job that would cost him pennies on the dollar. 200,000 homeless vets and this greedy SOB is stealing money while Bush and Congress cut Veterans Health Benefits- it’s sick. But Wilkes isn’t alone- how did he get the money? Earmarks
“An earmark is usually devoted to a particular company or particular project that is tied to a particular congressman,” said Michael Surrusco, director of ethics campaigns at Common Cause, a government watchdog group.
Earmarks are typically added to budget bills after they have been passed by the Senate and the House and the differing versions are being resolved in a conference committee. Because those meeting occur outside public view, the earmarks can be a way of avoiding scrutiny or accountability.
I would like to see a list of all earmarks attached in the last 5 years- listed by CongressCritter last name. How do “We the People” demand that?
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