E-mails lay bare firms' pay-to-play links to lawmaker Rep Peter J. Visclosky (D-IN)

Imagine this -- a Democrat Congressman getting donations for earmarks. This one must be serious because it is actually was investigated by the House Ethics Committee investigators. Ethics Investigators released the emails so Will these charges have legs or will they die in the Democrat controlled Ethics Committee?

After all the unethical charges against Cong Rangel (D-NY) were whitewashed, we expect nothing from the Ethics Committee on Visclosky except maybe a slap on the wrist. There is one thing that could lead to problems for Visclosky and that is the fact this was a Defense contractor and since the Democrat leadership is not pro-defense, they may be more inclined to toss him under the bus.

What we would like to see is his Congressional District standing up to him on November 2nd, 2010, and kicking him to curb for his unethical behavior. A Republican from Indiana had an affair and the Republican House Leadership told him to step down from running in November which he did. That is Leadership.

The Democrats turning a blind eye or giving one of theirs a slap on the wrist is no leadership. This Indiana Progressive was requesting earmarks for a NEVADA defense contractor not even an Indiana company.

E-mails lay bare firms' pay-to-play links to lawmaker
Earmarks closely follow donations

By Chuck Neubauer
8:43 p.m., Monday, June 21, 2010

Defense contractors who openly discussed a suspected pay-to-play scheme in e-mails released by congressional ethics investigators had ties to a powerful lobbying firm and won millions of dollars in federal earmarks after contributing to the campaign of an Indiana congressman.

Democratic Rep. Peter J. Visclosky requested a $2.5 million federal earmark for Nevada-based defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) five days after a March 2007 fundraiser for which the company's owners and its political action committee contributed $18,800 to the congressman's campaign.

Similarly, Mr. Visclosky requested $2.5 million for defense firm 21st Century Systems — five days after its employees ponied up $17,050 for the same fundraiser. The firm's chief executive was awarded an "honorary seat" next to Mr. Visclosky at that fundraiser.

In both cases, company executives wrote e-mails linking campaign donations to earmarks Mr. Visclosky secured or special access to the congressman, a congressional ethics board concluded.

At the time, SNC and 21st Century, along with other defense contractors, had secured the services of the then-high-flying Washington area lobbying firm, the PMA Group — now the target of a federal grand jury investigation.

Government watchdog groups have long questioned the ties between PMA and its three key allies on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee — Rep. John P. Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, who died in February; Rep. James P. Moran, Virginia Democrat; and Mr. Visclosky.

All three members of the powerful subcommittee that doles out millions of dollars annually in Pentagon appropriations received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from PMA employees and the firm's clients who wanted earmarks — often within mere days of each other.

PMA, which earned more than $16.4 million in 2007 specializing in defense earmarks for clients, was one of the 10 top-grossing lobbying firms in Washington before it imploded. Federal agents raided it and owner Paul Magliocchetti's home in November 2008.

Late last year, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) accused Mr. Visclosky of soliciting PMA clients for campaign donations in 2008 and then giving them special access to him and his staff one week before authoring their defense earmarks.

The eight-member OCE Board of Directors referred the findings on Mr. Visclosky to the House ethics committee, saying they found "probable cause" to believe he solicited or received contributions in exchange for earmarks.

Excerpt: Read More at Washington Times