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The Sunlight Foundation was founded in 2006 with the goal of using technology to enable citizens to learn more about what their elected representatives are doing, to help reduce corruption, ensure greater transparency and... [more]
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Ken Calvert
FBI Probes Continuing
Written by Paul Blumenthal on November 19, 2007 - 11:50am.
Read more: Jerry Lewis | Ken Calvert | Personal Financial Dsclosure (see all terms)
Read more: Jerry Lewis | Ken Calvert | Personal Financial Dsclosure (see all terms)
Source Name
Roll Call
Snippit
The FBI this summer examined the personal financial records of two House Republican appropriators in ongoing probes into their earmarking activities. The inquiries into California Reps. Jerry Lewis and Ken Calvert — made July 24 by two agents in a local FBI field office — appear to be aimed at updating records a federal agent from Riverside, Calif., first pulled more than a year earlier.
Illegal Calif. land sale does not deter Calvert, for now
Written by Paul Blumenthal on July 11, 2007 - 9:16am.
Read more: Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Read more: Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Source Name
The Hill
Snippit
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) has not ruled out selling a disputed piece of land back to the organization that he and two investment partners bought it from, even though a grand jury last week found that it was sold illegally.
Grand jury finds Jurupa agency violated laws
Written by Paul Blumenthal on July 5, 2007 - 10:19am.
Read more: Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Read more: Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Source Name
Press Enterprise
Snippit
The Jurupa Community Services District violated state law when it sold 4 acres of public land to Rep. Ken Calvert and his investment partners without first offering it to other public agencies -- including the local park district that wanted it, the Riverside County grand jury concluded in a report released Tuesday.
Ethics panel gives green light to Calvert earmark
Written by Paul Blumenthal on May 18, 2007 - 8:52am.
Read more: Earmarks | Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Read more: Earmarks | Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Source Name
The Hill
Snippit
The House ethics committee cleared the way for Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) to pursue a $5.6 million earmark for a transit center one-tenth of a mile away from one property and less than a mile from four other properties that he owns in his district.
House passed up chance to scuttle Calvert move
Written by Paul Blumenthal on May 17, 2007 - 9:31am.
Read more: Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Read more: Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Source Name
The Hill
Snippit
Lawmakers critical of Rep. Ken Calvert’s (R-Calif.) appointment to the House Appropriations panel bypassed a procedural opportunity last week that would have denied him the seat.
Abramoff scandal leads to Feeney advancement
Written by Paul Blumenthal on May 16, 2007 - 9:29am.
Read more: Ken Calvert | Tom Feeney (see all terms)
Read more: Ken Calvert | Tom Feeney (see all terms)
Source Name
Orlando Sentinel
Snippit
Convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff may yet help the political fortunes of U.S. Rep Tom Feeney of Florida. The Oviedo Republican said today he would take over as GOP leader on the space subcommittee, part of the overall House science committee. Why the open slot? The previous GOP leader, U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert of California, left his "ranking member" post to fill a vacant seat on the appropriations committee.
Blog’s campaign against Calvert to intensify
Written by Paul Blumenthal on May 14, 2007 - 9:39am.
Read more: Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Read more: Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Source Name
The Hill
Snippit
A popular conservative blog will step up its efforts this week to force Republican leaders to pull Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) from the powerful Appropriations Committee. In addition, the website will begin a coordinated effort to target members of the GOP Steering Committee in order to save the party from electoral disaster in 2008, the editor in chief of the site said Sunday.
Conservative bloggers revolt
Written by Paul Blumenthal on May 11, 2007 - 1:14pm.
Read more: Blogs | John Doolittle | Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Read more: Blogs | John Doolittle | Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Source Name
Politico
Snippit
Grassroots conservatives are railing against House Republican leaders for tapping Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) for the appropriations seat vacated by fellow California Republican John Doolittle after the FBI raided his home in northern Virginia.
Rep. Calvert overcame ethics cloud to nab committee seat
Written by Paul Blumenthal on May 11, 2007 - 9:12am.
Read more: John Doolittle | Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Read more: John Doolittle | Ken Calvert (see all terms)
Source Name
The Hill
Snippit
Although the House Republican Conference yesterday ratified Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) as its choice to replace Rep. John Doolittle (R) temporarily on the House Appropriations Committee, Calvert faced stiff opposition from conference members concerned that ethics allegations against him could hurt the party.
Congressional Corruption is Real:
Read more: Corruption | Dennis Hastert | Gary Miller | Ken Calvert (see all terms) login or register to post commentsNorm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute and Roll Call gets all Howard Beale in his editorial today:
In all my years of watching Congress, I have never seen anything quite like what we have now. It may be a cliché, and it may be a partisan attack term, but it is also true: There is a culture of corruption across Capitol Hill.
It still does not encompass the majority of Members and staffers, most of whom come here to do the right thing and to stay on the path. It may be true that the numbers of offenders, at least those directly breaking the law, are still roughly the same as in other comparable peer groups.
But the problem is palpably worse. While there is plenty of illegality here — and I believe a wave of indictments will hit in the coming months — it is not what is illegal that is the outrage, to use the old phrase, but rather what is legal.
Ornstein goes on to list the honest graft through earmarking of Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), Gary Miller (R-Calif.), and Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and the abuses of campaign contributions by Vito Fossella as recent examples of this corruption.
There simply is no ethical compass here. The fact that Hastert was responsible for the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre of the House ethics committee makes his own real estate actions even more wrongheaded.
I don’t want Members of Congress and staffers to live ascetic or penurious lives. Lawmakers (and judges for that matter) ought to be paid at least as much as second-year associates in big law firms. (Currently they are not.)
Still, when I look at the eagerness of Members to score big perks from their lobbyist friends and to find ways to make big bucks by transactions that are related to their behavior inside Congress, I cannot find any justification in the large pay gap with their peers.
Illegal or not, much of this behavior is unethical and repugnant. It underscores the deep need for a real package of ethics, earmarking and lobbying reforms—which in turn underscores the shameful and pathetic behavior of the leaders in both chambers who have failed to act and who are trying to sneak through a sham bill. They hope journalists will tire of these stories and that voters won’t notice. I hope they are wrong.
"I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!"
Amen.
-- Paul Blumenthal
Current Projects
Fortune 535 Running the numbers on congressional wealth
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Where Are They Now? Former Congressional Staffers head through the Revolving Door on to K Street.
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Earmark Watch: Bringing Citizen Oversight to Congressional Spending
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Past Projects
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Congressional Web Site Investigation:Employing citizen oversight to find out if we are getting our money’s worth from congressional Web sites.
Today's Ethics Watch
No money coming to Young’s legal defense: Alaska congressman Don Young (R) is having trouble getting contributions to his legal defense fund. A document filed with the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shows “no activity” since the fund was approved by the committee on Jan. 9. (The Hill)
Seats of Power: A Return to Skybox Lobbying?: Not long ago, lobbyists regularly entertained lawmakers and their aides in skyboxes at local sports arenas. But after a series of scandals on Capitol Hill, the law was changed to forbid congressional officials from accepting anything of value from lobbyists without repayment -- let alone the best seats in the house. (Washington Post)
Companies Start to Lift Veil on Political Spending: Ever wonder how much companies really spend to influence government through trade associations? Well, a few corporations are coming clean, or at least cleaner. (Washington Post)
Dems, GOP together nix Murtha earmark: Democrats and Republicans joined together to strip a pet project of Rep. John Murtha’s (D-Pa.) from the 2009 intelligence authorization bill — the same project Democrats defended last year. (The Hill)
NAPA launches collaboration Web site: If you’ve ever wished your federal agency could adopt wikis, use YouTube or delve into the virtual world but feared the security, technology and political barriers were too high to overcome, take heart. You’ve got supporters, and they have success stories. (NextGov)
Jefferson lawyers cite race case in change of venue request: Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) lawyers have asked a federal judge to reconsider a ruling denying a change of venue for his corruption trial. (The Hill)
Jefferson Tries New Argument: Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) has asked a federal court to use an international criminal law treaty to force the depositions of three people in Nigeria who have been implicated in corruption charges levied against him. (Roll Call)
Foreign Gifts Test Rules: Even as new ethics restrictions have made it difficult for Members and staff to accept gifts — aside from token baseball caps or T-shirts — one area remains where lawmakers and their staffs can collect trinkets more or less guilt-free: foreign travel. (Roll Call)
K St.’s ‘Max Out’ Crowd: The 20 top K Street donors this election cycle have handed federal candidates nearly $1.8 million in personal cash. The majority of that money, $1.3 million, has gone to help Democrats as the party in charge of Capitol Hill looks to expand its majority. (Roll Call)
Senator’s Ties to Real Estate Draw Criticism: He has made millions as a title insurance executive, landlord and real estate developer in this college town, where the economy, despite trouble nationwide, is still growing nicely. Now, as a United States senator, with the mortgage mess fueling a national economic slowdown, Richard C. Shelby has more say over the revamping of housing finance laws than almost anyone else in Congress. (New York Times)
Oil Lobby Reaches Out to Citizens Peeved at the Pump: Faced with a national outcry over the high price of gasoline and soaring profits for energy companies, the oil and gas industry is waging an unusually pricey campaign to burnish its image. (Washington Post)
[ More in the Archive ]
Seats of Power: A Return to Skybox Lobbying?: Not long ago, lobbyists regularly entertained lawmakers and their aides in skyboxes at local sports arenas. But after a series of scandals on Capitol Hill, the law was changed to forbid congressional officials from accepting anything of value from lobbyists without repayment -- let alone the best seats in the house. (Washington Post)
Companies Start to Lift Veil on Political Spending: Ever wonder how much companies really spend to influence government through trade associations? Well, a few corporations are coming clean, or at least cleaner. (Washington Post)
Dems, GOP together nix Murtha earmark: Democrats and Republicans joined together to strip a pet project of Rep. John Murtha’s (D-Pa.) from the 2009 intelligence authorization bill — the same project Democrats defended last year. (The Hill)
NAPA launches collaboration Web site: If you’ve ever wished your federal agency could adopt wikis, use YouTube or delve into the virtual world but feared the security, technology and political barriers were too high to overcome, take heart. You’ve got supporters, and they have success stories. (NextGov)
Jefferson lawyers cite race case in change of venue request: Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) lawyers have asked a federal judge to reconsider a ruling denying a change of venue for his corruption trial. (The Hill)
Jefferson Tries New Argument: Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) has asked a federal court to use an international criminal law treaty to force the depositions of three people in Nigeria who have been implicated in corruption charges levied against him. (Roll Call)
Foreign Gifts Test Rules: Even as new ethics restrictions have made it difficult for Members and staff to accept gifts — aside from token baseball caps or T-shirts — one area remains where lawmakers and their staffs can collect trinkets more or less guilt-free: foreign travel. (Roll Call)
K St.’s ‘Max Out’ Crowd: The 20 top K Street donors this election cycle have handed federal candidates nearly $1.8 million in personal cash. The majority of that money, $1.3 million, has gone to help Democrats as the party in charge of Capitol Hill looks to expand its majority. (Roll Call)
Senator’s Ties to Real Estate Draw Criticism: He has made millions as a title insurance executive, landlord and real estate developer in this college town, where the economy, despite trouble nationwide, is still growing nicely. Now, as a United States senator, with the mortgage mess fueling a national economic slowdown, Richard C. Shelby has more say over the revamping of housing finance laws than almost anyone else in Congress. (New York Times)
Oil Lobby Reaches Out to Citizens Peeved at the Pump: Faced with a national outcry over the high price of gasoline and soaring profits for energy companies, the oil and gas industry is waging an unusually pricey campaign to burnish its image. (Washington Post)
[ More in the Archive ]