Paul Kiel September 27, 2007, 11:32 AM

As if serving subpoenas on twelve members of the House wasn’t enough, Brent Wilkes’ lawyers apparently issued subpoenas to a number of senators and administration figures as well, it was disclosed today. At least two of those subpoenas, however, have not been served yet.

In a filing today by the House’s lawyers seeking to quash the twelve subpoenas, the House’s general counsel reveals that he’d been advised by an investigator for Wilkes’ lawyer Mark Geragos earlier this month that subpoenas had also been issued to:

— Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)
— Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
— Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI)
— Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
— White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten
— Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
— Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England.

A spokesperson for Sen. Levin said that he had not been served with a subpoena, and a spokesman for Sen. Rockefeller said the same, adding that the Senate legal counsel had told him that they hadn’t received anything. So it may be that Geragos has decided to hold off serving those additional subpoenas, at least for now. (Update: Sen. Craig’s spokesman also said that he had not been served. Later Update: Ditto for Sen. Inouye.)

Geragos has refused to disclose the rationale behind the subpoenas, but Wilkes has tipped his hand that his defense might include the argument that his gifts to Cunningham were part of a corrupt system of which he was a victim. These additional subpoenas are more evidence that Wilkes is seeking to present evidence of how Washington works for a defense contractor, from the top down. Prosecutors filed a motion earlier this week seeking to prevent Wilkes from introducing such evidence at trial.

Wilkes and his associates contributed more than $40,000 to Craig. As for the other senators, they all chair powerful panels — appropriations defense subcomittee, armed services, and intelligence (Inouye, Levin, Rockefeller, respectively)— which would have had jurisdiction over the government contracts awarded to Wilkes’ companies. Wilkes made his fortune off of defense contracts, which presumably explains why Gates and England would be on his list. And the White House… well, who knows.

Update: You can see the twelve subpoenas issued to members of the House here.

Brent Wilkes, Duke Cunningham