Feds circling Murtha operation
U.S. Rep. John Murtha, Democrat from Pennsylvania, has long been suspected of being a bit too … aggressive, shall we say? … in his use of earmarking on defense projects, particularly on behalf of companies that provide campaign cash. Federal prosecutors are now circling the Murtha operation, and the facts laid out in today’s Washington Post suggest why:
“A Pennsylvania defense research center regularly consulted with two “handlers” close to Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) as it collected nearly $250 million in federal funding through the lawmaker, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post and sources familiar with the funding requests. The center then channeled a significant portion of the funding to companies that were among Murtha’s campaign supporters.
The two advisers included a lobbyist for PMA, a firm with close ties to Murtha that is under federal investigation for allegedly making illegal contributions by reimbursing donors to the Pennsylvania lawmaker and other members of Congress. The Electro-Optics Center also relied on advice from a longtime Murtha friend who now works on the congressman’s appropriations staff.
Federal agents are also exploring how the center obtained its funds after receiving dozens of internal documents last year. It is unclear whether the records have become a central focus of the Justice Department’s ongoing probe, but they open a window into a largely hidden process in which powerful lawmakers can direct funds to pet projects.”
The critical phrase there is the description of “a largely hidden process in which powerful lawmakers can direct funds to pet projects.” There are no checks and balances on people such as Murtha, creating a system begging to be abused.
And while prosecutors can and should handle allegations of criminality, if they have a case, only Congress can fix the process.
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87 comments Add your comment
The Corporal
March 16th, 2009
4:41 pm
……… and a disgrace to the Corps.
getalife
March 16th, 2009
4:51 pm
Playing the system. I doubt they will fix it. Pi is very important.
Disappointing to say the least.
I Report/ You Whine
March 16th, 2009
4:57 pm
Another hack democrat in cuffs, who would have ever thunk it?
radiowxman
March 16th, 2009
4:57 pm
When will this republican-created culture of corruption get cleaned up?
Swami Dave
March 16th, 2009
5:02 pm
I have a number of political issues with Murtha, but will be one of the first to state that I am going to reserve judgement until the investigation is completed. This is one of those occasions when conclusions made based on what you “know” about another individual or group can overstep what is found within the evidence that should have been patiently viewed with a cautious skepticism.
Hopefully, the facts will be uncovered and he can be cleared or charged based upon them. If, as a result of the investigation, they indeed bring to light systemic ways that politicians peddle influence and circumvent the normal methods for oversight and transparency, then so much the better.
-Swami Dave
Bud Wiser
March 16th, 2009
5:20 pm
Radiowxman, are you brain damaged, or just joking around? Murtha is a Democrat. He is the same Democrat who called the people in his district ‘ignorant’. Well, that certainly has been proven here, for now it appears that he is yet just another in a long line of political crooks, pick a party, they both have plenty to go around.
A disgrace to the Corps, to his district, to his party, to his family, none of which he obviously ever gave a damn about.
And you think this massive amount of ’stimulus’ money isn’t going to create a whole new level of political criminal? Only now, the money we’ll see being ‘diverted’ in the future will be on a whole new scale.
PLOTUS has screwed the pooch, and the pooch is us.
And you morons on the left supported this.
Shame. Sad. Pathetic.
The Corporal
March 16th, 2009
5:22 pm
radiowxman:
Good grief, he’s a Democrat but the point is with few exceptions on either side they are all either corrupt or unethical at best.
radiowxman
March 16th, 2009
5:24 pm
Bud — your need to turn on your sarcasm meter.
I quote from Nancy Pelosi’s own press release, issued 2/1/06:
“Democrats are leading the effort to turn the most closed, corrupt Congress in history into the most open and honest Congress in history. The American people have been paying the cost for the Republican culture of corruption…. Democrats will restore truth and trust to our government, and put the priorities of the American people first.”
Hillbilly Deluxe
March 16th, 2009
5:30 pm
Jay writes: “only Congress can fix the process.”
They won’t because it isn’t in their best interest. I’ve said before that I wonder if you led the members of Congress out into a rain storm if any honest person would get wet. Reckon what our Founding Father’s would say if they could see what has happened to the concept of “citizen lawmakers”?
Bud Wiser
March 16th, 2009
5:34 pm
Wow, a quote from Nancy Pelosi….this could change my whole life! I never knew she was so caring, thoughtful, insightful.
So by ‘leading the effort’, does that mean that now all of the corrupt Democrats will stand alongside Murtha as Nancy whips their naked backs with her cat-o-nine-tails, wearing her black leather shorts and a sports bra, her hair exploded about that beautifully botoxed face?
Well, I for one don’t put much by what she says, or anyone in her party – the party that cheers and celebrates still to this day the drunker murderer from Massachusetts, so much to divert millions from the ’stimulus’ package to build a new compound honoring the Kennedy Klan.
Sorry, can’t get behind Botox Face.
Observer
March 16th, 2009
5:35 pm
radiowxman – Be careful. Apparently, sarcasm is only allowed on this board if you lean to the left. Otherwise, you are just another member of the vast right-wing conspiracy and everything you say must be taken literally and dissected ad nauseum. Anytime you speak out against something, you will be accused of hate speech.
Joey
March 16th, 2009
5:37 pm
Is it a media integrity/ethics issue that neither the Post nor Jay mentioned Abascam and bribery in 1980? Well no. That kind of thorough reporting is reserved for Republicans.
Observer
March 16th, 2009
5:44 pm
Hey, somebody should alert the media that Jay has written a piece that at least marginally attacks a Democrat. Oh wait, this is the media, or at least as close as we get to it here in Atlanta.
I Report/ You Whine
March 16th, 2009
5:45 pm
Legal scholars and those representing detainees said that dropping the term “enemy combatant” was important but that the rest of the legal arguments may not change much about the nation’s detention policy.
All that whining and moaning and hair pulling about the “horrors” of Gitmo, the democrats “fix” by changing a few meaningless words, hahahahaha.
Unreal, now listen to all the brainwashed natter on like Wonder Dunce has actually done something.
Bushie Jr is all he is.
CommunistAJC
March 16th, 2009
5:45 pm
Murtha is a jerk.
Now, someone please help me out on this one. Gov. Sanford wants to pay down state debt with the stimulus money. Obama rejects the notion. Does this bother anyone?
Obama rejects SC gov’s bid to use stimulus on debt
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Obama administration on Monday rejected South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s request to use $700 million in federal stimulus cash to pay down state debt. White House Budget Director Peter Orszag said in a letter to the Republican that the federal stimulus law doesn’t allow President Barack Obama to make an exception for that cash. Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer had no immediate response, but the governor has said he would reject part of the stimulus money if Obama wouldn’t give him flexibility in spending it.
The $787 billion stimulus legislation sets strict rules for the $53.6 billion being sent to help state budgets, Orszag wrote. It calls for 82 percent of the money to be used for public schools and colleges and 18 percent on public safety and other government services.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090316/ap_on_re_us/sc_stimulus_sanford
Observer
March 16th, 2009
5:47 pm
Methinks the usual suspects on this blog (Taxpayer, G, Mrs. Godzilla, DB, AmVet et al) are conspicuous by their absence.
CommunistAJC
March 16th, 2009
5:53 pm
Bookman,
I’m wondering if you will want to talk about President Teleprompters sudden flip flop on the state of the economy. First, he says we are headed for a depression. Now, he says the fundamentals of our economy are strong. Is it me or did GEORGE W. BUSH AND JOHN MCCAIN SAY THE EXACT SAME THING LAST YEAR?
Democrats=stupidity beyond belief.
williewonka
March 16th, 2009
5:58 pm
Commie; the purpose of the stimuli package is not to pay down state debts it’s an economic stimulus bill that contains numerous measures to help americans get through the recession by providing tax rebates, mortgage assistance and a number of other financial incentives to offer hope and relief.
Sanford wants the money to pay down the mess he has created.
Midori
March 16th, 2009
6:00 pm
on the contrary, Observer – this “usual suspect” just got home from work.
As as I suspected, this from the subject matter, the other “usual subjects” have come out in force to stink up the place.
Republicans=stupidity beyond lightyears.
Observer
March 16th, 2009
6:07 pm
Midori – Good to see you. I was afraid there wouldn’t be anyone to tell us how the Murtha investigation was the product of eight years of Bush’s failed economic policies.
Midori
March 16th, 2009
6:09 pm
I aim to please, Observer: the Murtha investigation was the product of eight years of Bush’s failed economic policies.
Happy?
@@
March 16th, 2009
6:14 pm
Innocent until proven guilty. I say that not only because I hold fast, the principle, but ’cause Murtha reminds Getalife of his grandpa.
“Temptation is like a knife, that may either cut the meat or the throat of a man; it may be his food or his poison, his exercise or his destruction” — John Owen
fearless fosdick
March 16th, 2009
6:22 pm
president ‘TELEPROMPTERS”…Mr. Commie that canard is getting a little old. We just went through 8 years of a total moron who stated..
“I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn’t here.”
And this little ditty “I am here to make an announcement that this Thursday, ticket counters and airplanes will fly out of Ronald Reagan Airport.”
Or this…”We need an energy bill that encourages consumption.”
The list is endless of what this dim wit used to spout. I doubt if a telepromter would of helped clueless George!
Bosch
March 16th, 2009
6:27 pm
Hi ya Midori!
What a gloomy day huh? It’s been raining since Friday night at my house.
The problem with things like this is that it’s not against the law in most cases what these guys do, ya’ know why? Because they make the laws! And guys like Murtha who’ve been in Congress for decades don’t dare change it – would a heroin addict turn in his supplier?
It’s a vicious cycle.
And we keep electing these guys.
Observer
March 16th, 2009
6:27 pm
Midori – LOL. You are one of my favorite liberals on this board. At least you have a sense of humor.
The Corporal
March 16th, 2009
6:28 pm
“Innocent until proven guilty”? Like the way he treated those Marines?
AmVet
March 16th, 2009
6:28 pm
Observer, what absence are you referring to?
In fact wtf are you referring to at all?
Bosch
March 16th, 2009
6:29 pm
Observer,
Sometimes this usual suspect doesn’t have anything to add, and the constant bickering gets old.
Redneck Convert
March 16th, 2009
6:29 pm
Well, it just goes to show again what a bunch of crooks the librul Democrats are. I don’t need to wait to see how it turns out, he’s guilty, guilty, guilty. That’s the way us Conservatives use the law. There’s lots of dead people we sent to their Maker that way. They usually whine something about how they love this person or that person before we shoot the juice to them. I reckon my taxes will go up again because he’s so fat they need to feed him twicet as much as the usual criminal. Probly needs a king-size bed too. Bunch of libruls!
Angry Black Man
March 16th, 2009
6:32 pm
Yet another example of why term limits are a good idea. It would be interesting to see who wasn’t corrupt if all Congressmen and Congresswomen were held under the microscope. I think there’d be very few on either side of the isle with clean hands.
Bosch
March 16th, 2009
6:40 pm
Angry Black Man,
That’s one of the reasons I voted for Obama – he hasn’t been in politics long enough to get his hands dirty.
Angry Black Man
March 16th, 2009
6:45 pm
Bosch,
According to some of the posters here, he’s already tainted by the Chicago Political Machine.
The Corporal
March 16th, 2009
6:50 pm
McObama is throwing a St. Patty’s day party ………
http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0309/big_day_wednesday_36650cd8-6222-4f7d-9f10-ad7ecbd4a169.html
@@
March 16th, 2009
6:54 pm
Corporal:
I’m pretty sure those marines would be above doing what Murtha did. They serve honorably.
I Report/ You Whine
March 16th, 2009
6:54 pm
Did anybody else see today where Wonder Dunce needed his wittle teleprompter to whine about AIG?
Must have been a real horrible crime they committed that he can’t remember what it was on his own.
The Corporal
March 16th, 2009
6:55 pm
To @@:
Exactly.
@@
March 16th, 2009
6:59 pm
jay, are we gonna get a Dow report? Oh never you mind, I’ll do it.
Midori
March 16th, 2009
7:08 pm
see what you guys are reduced to?
pitiful.
just pitiful.
GOP ‘trackers’ stalk Dems in hunt for ‘macaca’ moment
By David Lightman | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Rep. Chris Carney was walking down a Capitol Hill street when suddenly — bam — an anonymous Republican with a video camera who’d been following him asked him a question that was intended to embarrass the Pennsylvania Democrat.
The interviewer asked first about a single provision in the massive economic stimulus bill, then asked if Carney was going to be “ready to vote tomorrow.”
An irritated Carney answered: “Like I told you before, if I see the damn package, I’ll have an answer.”
A “macaca” moment meant to replayed on the Internet and possibly wound a vulnerable Democrat?
That’s the goal. A video of former Virginia Republican Sen. George Allen’s offhand racial slur of an Indian-American Democratic campaign volunteer helped lead to his defeat in 2006.
The National Republican Congressional Committee is sending out video “trackers” to ask provocative questions of Democratic members of Congress. The trackers, who are congressional committee staffers, were earlier reported by Congress Daily, a specialty publication distributed largely on Capitol Hill.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/64086.html
DB, Gwinnettian
March 16th, 2009
7:14 pm
Methinks the usual suspects on this blog (Taxpayer, G, Mrs. Godzilla, DB, AmVet et al) are conspicuous by their absence.
Or maybe the right wing trolls over at the WaPo page cited are funnier than ours, and they decided to hang out there instead?
aps
March 16th, 2009
7:35 pm
“…a bit too … aggressive, shall we say?” I wonder if this had been a Republican would you have used the same phrase. I’ll bet no and I’m not a betting man.
@@
March 16th, 2009
7:40 pm
I don’t know about Midori, but I’d kinda like to know that our representatives are reading before signing on the dotted line. Personally, I don’t care who asks the question. The DNC…the MSM? Oh wait….
they’re one in the same. I guess that’s why the NRCC has to work overtime.
One rep (D) was able to say “Yes, I’ve read it — it’s good for Connecticut.” So what’s up with Carney (D)? Is he slow or something?
I Report/ You Whine
March 16th, 2009
7:42 pm
Before, this was all a joke, but now I’m getting pissed-
WASHINGTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The leader of the nation’s largest veterans organization says he is “deeply disappointed and concerned” after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.
“It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan,” said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. “He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it.”
Charging our wounded veterans to treat them?
Are you %$#^ing kidding me?
I Report/ You Whine
March 16th, 2009
7:52 pm
Hahahahahahaha-
WASHINGTON — Eight Senate Democrats are opposing speedy action on President Barack Obama’s bill to combat global warming, complicating prospects for the legislation and creating problems for their party’s leaders.
The eight Democrats disapprove of using the annual budget debate to pass Obama’s “cap and trade” bill to fight greenhouse gas emissions, a measure that divides lawmakers, environmentalists and businesses. The lawmakers’ opposition makes it more difficult for Democratic leaders to move the bill without a threat of a Republican filibuster.
Hahahahahahaha
cliff zeider
March 16th, 2009
8:17 pm
Hey, When are they going to drag that beloved Democrat congressman from La. efferson into a court of law. Sure seems like a long time ago he was staching loot in a freezer. Cliff
BDAtlanta
March 16th, 2009
8:29 pm
If he’s guilty, lock him up.
BDAtlanta
March 16th, 2009
8:31 pm
I Report,
No source? Another fine post from the esteemed Investors Business Daily?
Caveman
March 16th, 2009
8:32 pm
Don’t these liberals know anything. When your party controls the justice department, you don’t let them investigate members of your own party, you have them make up charges against members of the other party. Even Republicans knew better than to let principals or the rule of law stand in the way of twisting justice into a game of gotcha. Stupid Dems.
CommunistAJC
March 16th, 2009
8:33 pm
Midori,
yeah, you know all about stinking. I can smell your trailer all the way up here in Chicagoland. Some bum asked me what that horrible smell was and I replied, “well, that horrible stench is Midori’s trailer in Clayton County, GA.”
CommunistAJC
March 16th, 2009
8:34 pm
williewonka,
ummm, maybe you can explain how this stimulus package is working. Either explain or stick to beating midgets in your factory.
I Report/ You Whine
March 16th, 2009
8:35 pm
The Democrats who signed the letter, addressed to the chairman and top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, were: Robert Byrd, W.Va.; Blanche Lincoln, Ark.; Mary Landrieu, La.; Carl Levin, Mich.; Evan Bayh, Ind.; Ben Nelson, Neb.; Bob Casey Jr., Pa.; and Mark Pryor, Ark.
I made it all up, eh?