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FBI Getting Closer To Murtha?
Is the noose tightening around John Murtha?
For months now, the Pennsylvania Democratic power-broker's name has been popping up in connection to a wide-ranging FBI investigation of defense contractors and lobbyists to whom he has ties. And yesterday brought more bad news...
Mark O'Hair, a former Air Force employee pleaded guilty (sub. req.) Monday in connection to getting a kickback from a defense contract that Murtha, who chairs the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee, had provided.
Roll Call reports:
According to the plea agreement, filed in a federal court in Florida, in May 2005, "Congress passed a tsunami relief act which included within the provisions of the act an $8.2 million earmark for the development of the 'Mobile Common Data Link Gateway.' Coherent Systems International, Inc. (CSI) had lobbied for this earmark appropriation."Roll Call reported in June that Coherent was represented by KSA Consulting, the lobbying firm that employed Murtha's brother, Kit, and that the Congressman had provided this earmark to Coherent by eliminating the same sum from a project that had been designated for a previous client of his brother's firm.
The O'Hair case appears to begin tying together the other strands of the FBI probe that has put Murtha -- who frequently appears on good-government groups' lists of the most corrupt lawmakers -- in the spotlight. In addition to the Coherent payment, O'Hair also approved a payment of $650,000 -- for products that were not part of the contact -- to Kuchera Industries, another defense contractor with close ties to Murtha. (Its founder, Bill Kuchera, has said, that the company would not exist were it not for Murtha.) Kuchera's headquarters were raided by the FBI earlier this year, and in May, the Navy suspended Kuchera after tips from company insiders suggested that taxpayers may have been billed improperly for Kuchera family expenses.
And O'Hair also approved a payment to another company that was represented by the PMA Group, a now-defunct lobbying firm founded by Murtha's former chief of staff. PMA was raided by the FBI last fall, and is being investigated for allegedly tying campaign contributions to earmarks doled out by Murtha and by another member of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Pete Visclosky. Just in the last two years, Murtha has steered earmarks totaling around $93 million to PMA clients, and since 2002 he has taken in around $1.75 million from PMA and its clients.
Ominously, O'Hair has said he will cooperate with the Feds. Coherent's CEO, Richard Ianieri, who earlier this month pleaded guilty to soliciting kickbacks, has also indicated he'll cooperate.
It's unclear where the federal probe is going, and whether it's headed toward Murtha himself, who hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing at this point. But it's not a stretch to imagine that it's already too close for the congressman's comfort.
Late Update: A Murtha spokesman tells TPMmuckraker via email:
Congressman Murtha has said all along that if these individuals and companies broke the law then they should be held accountable for their actions, period.
| TOPICS: Defense Contractors, FBI, John Murtha, Lobbyists, PMA, Pete Visclosky
Josh
Zachary
Honestly, I won't be sad if Murtha gets got by the Feds. The guy is corrupt, a wholly owned subsidiary of defense interests---a corporate Democrat through and through.
The only sad thing is that it will give a propaganda victory to the GOP, and that Murtha will probably not be replaced by a more decent Democrat. Oh well.
July 21, 2009 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Build a really solid case. If he is guilty, throw the book at him.
With conditions, of course. The Justice Department becomes truly independent, objective and bipartisan. Efforts are made to investigate corruption and other violations of federal law looking back as far as the statute of limitations allows. No exceptions, no "looking forward", no national security interests crap.
Turn on the lights. Watch the cockroaches run.
July 21, 2009 12:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
And make sure those Bush-era DoJ holdover "lawyers" in the public-corruption section don't screw the pooch by withholding any more exculpatory evidence.
July 22, 2009 9:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
The patriotic endeavors of our leaders never ceases to surprise me....
OF COURSE THEY'RE CROOKS!!!
"We the Voters" continue to elect those same people who have driven this nation into the ground and have ALWAYS voted to protect their own interests over those who rely upon their honesty and integrity.
Think the clowns in office are different?
Write them and let them know you want them to pass a bill to kick those out of office who violate ethical standards...
Oops, sorry... can't do that because the ethics committee will fight to the end to protect THEIR party's members.
BOTH parties are full of people who belong in jail or prison and we do nothing but reelect them because we don't want those OTHER crooks in office.... and believe OUR crooks are somehow different than every other bad guy in history. Sorry folks... these are as bad as the worst you can imagine.
These people have sent thousands of our heros (not to mention innocent men, women and children) to their deaths without reading or investigating facts... because they were busy fundraising and vacationing.
These same people are protecting VIPs who have tortured other human beings.
These are the lowest of lowlifes, folks... and we continue to put them in charge with enough power to destroy this entire world...
Scarey...
Please do not think for one moment that I am just vilifying the democrats now in power, because I just finished listening to Senator Chambliss (Republican, Georgia) standing up in the Senate, praising a general who wants more fighter jets (against the wishes of Gates and the Pentagon).
This clown said that this general was the type of person he would want next to him in a foxhole.
(Chambliss managed to get five deferments during the Vietnam War and avoided the military.
He is apparently not adverse to pretending he is heroic... while sending others off to those foxholes...
Not worthy to be in the same room with REAL patriots... if you ask me...
I've ranted enough...
July 21, 2009 12:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
"These people have sent thousands of our heros (not to mention innocent men, women and children) to their deaths without reading or investigating facts... because they were busy fundraising and vacationing."
Now you're getting to the ONLY solution to this problem, Public Campaign Finance.
While I'm certain no one wants to claim responsability here, including me, I WILL by stating the obvious, I was a lazy American and allowed the corporate interests to steal my country from me while I was chasing a new car.
We have to take back our government and the only way is to make those who "serve" SERVE THE PEOPLE.
We could not be bothered to get loud and demand real campaign finance reform, and look at where we are now. ALL of "our" politicians are bought and paid for by coporate interests. A good start might be to make them wear jackets like the NASCAR drivers with all of their sponsors labels on them. At least we would know which interest we're dealing with.
We the people could not be bothered to protect our system of government thereby allowing the institutional and systemic graft we have now.
Our "leaders" MUST raise $4,000.00 A DAY, EVERY DAY in order to just compete in the next election cycle, and we have only ourselves to blame.
BUT....There IS a solution. Public finance of elections. Take the money out of it and take back control of our government. AND smart people might even run for office again and we can get rid of the "morons" you speak of.
So, let's get busy with the only solution for this problem OR STFU and go buy another thing we don't need.
Rant ends here. (for this minute anyway...)
July 22, 2009 11:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
sorry jtbear but the SCOTUS ruled that state imposed term limits were unconstitutional, they ruled that it would take an amendment to the US constitution to change term limits. One suggestion for getting all the corporate money out of it is to make it mandatory that television and radio stations must give free air time to the candidates, after all, the airways belong to the citizens of the nation and are only on loan from us.
July 24, 2009 1:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Don't disagree with the statement of the problem or the solution, but in addition to ruling term limits unconstitutional for members of Congress/Senate, the SCOTUS also ruled (1976 I believe) that limits on campaign expenditures are unconstitutional. Buckley v. Valeo. In other words, money equals speech. The more money, the more speech. So public financing of elections means nothing as long as any candidate can go outside the public finance system and spend their own money, or money donated to them. I just re-read (OK, re-skimmed) Buckley last night.
You can read it yourself:
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=424&invol=1
The SCOTUS has renedered it effectively impossible to get the money out.
jifler, with respect, I'm not sure what term limits has to do with this particular discussion. jtbear didn't mention them.
July 28, 2009 1:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
If they get him then toss him out on his ass. It is about time..I am so sick and tired of these people who think they are above the law that I could scream.
Actually, I hate all lobbying.....the only lobbyist's should be us....we the people......and we are a hell of a lot cheaper.
July 21, 2009 2:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
If Murtha gets popped now, you can say he's at least got good return on his fair shake down since he's been at this for a loooong time while Conyer's wife was bought by a lousy $3500.
Murtha is and has always been the single biggest potential liability for the Dems though as his name always pops up with legions of republicans make the top 'most corrupt on the hill list' an annual occasion. So any dem not aware of Murtha's potential baggage to know enough to steer clear is one dumb Dem. Makes you wonder what Pelosi was thinking wanting Murtha as majority leader.
July 21, 2009 7:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
There is a good candidate running against Murtha this election. His name is Tim Burns. He's never been a politician - he has a business background. Just a good family guy that is trying to do the right thing. You should take a look at him: www.timburnsforcongress.com. Go to the video gallery and watch his Tea Party speech.
If we really want to get some of these old-timers out of office, we've got to support the new candidates - especially ones with no prior political experience.
July 21, 2009 9:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you think you are going to find Tea Party candidate supporters on this website, you obviously haven't been paying much attention to the Tea Party posts.
I'd love to see a good progressive Dem challenge Murtha in a Dem primary, however. I'd also like to see the Dem leadership propose some additional ethics and earmark reforms in advance of the seemingly obviously forthcoming Murtha indictment.
July 22, 2009 2:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
The sooner this much-loved congressional thief is behind bars the sooner justice can quit crying.
I only hope that his bribe-taking Republican and Democratic multitudes go with him.
Maybe the end is near at last for the long held House belief that the way to riches is gold, frankincense and Murtha.
July 22, 2009 12:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
I used to believe that Jack was misunderstood, but it's apparent now that he's more interested in being payed than in serving his country.
Time for a progressive to relieve him of his command.
July 24, 2009 10:14 AM | Reply | Permalink