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Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Wednesday called on Attorney General Michael Mukasey to explain the decision to eliminate the public corruption unit in Los Angeles that has been investigating Rep. Jerry Lewis's (R-Calif.) ties to a lobbying firm.
Former Rep. Bill Lowery (R-Calif.), whose relationship with Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) helped trigger a federal probe of the veteran lawmaker, continues to donate money to Lewis’ leadership PAC despite the ongoing investigation.
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.
An Appropriations Committee staffer, with the help of the House General Counsel’s office, is fighting a grand jury subpoena issued as part of the investigation into Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.).
A House aide has been subpoenaed by a grand jury in Los Angeles investigating ties between a lobbyist and Rep. Jerry Lewis, the top Republican on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
A veteran prosecutor assigned to the lobbying probe of Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, is being forced to retire. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Emmick, 54, took early retirement in 2004 and has returned under one-year appointments since then.
A lobby firm connected to a federal investigation has seen business boom this year for its clients, many of whose projects are in a powerful House appropriator’s district.
Among members of Congress, John Doolittle is far from alone in feeling heat from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department. More than a dozen current and former lawmakers are under scrutiny in cases involving their work on Capitol Hill.
In the past four years, Rep. Jerry Lewis has helped steer $2.75 million dollars toward the revitalization of a neighborhood that lies thousands of miles from his Inland Southern California district, but only blocks from his Washington home, according to records and interviews with those close to the project.
California Republican Rep. Jerry Lewis was sitting pretty when his 2006 bid for a 15th House term began. With his party then in the majority, Lewis was chairing the powerful Appropriations Committee. And with his re-election deemed certain in the strongly Republican 41st District, which covers most of San Bernardino County and is east of Los Angeles, Democrats had made little effort to recruit a strong challenger.
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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)
Lawmakers Accused of Flouting Rules on Use of Staff: Democratic Reps. Jane Harman and Neil Abercrombie spent more than $2 million on their 2006 reelection campaigns but paid only $5,000 to campaign workers, according to campaign finance reports. (Washington Post)
NAM discloses member list: The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) disclosed certain member companies on Thursday after failing to win a reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court. (The Hill)
Clinton introduces bill to post contractor violations on the Web: Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has introduced a bill that would force contractors to self-report criminal actions or government overpayments to agency inspectors general under the threat of potential disbarment or suspension. The misconduct would then be made publicly available on a searchable Web site. (GovExec)
Rep. Abercrombie questions ethics of ethics bill handling: Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) is challenging actions by his Democratic leaders and plans to ask the ethics committee to determine whether House rules were broken during a recent ethics vote. (The Hill)
A futile walk down Coconut Road?: The House agreed Wednesday to ask the Justice Department to investigate the now infamous Coconut Road earmark, but don’t hold your breath waiting for indictments. (Politico)
Young, Jefferson quiet as Coconut Road earmark nears vote in House: Reps. Don Young (R-Alaska) and William Jefferson (D-La.) are keeping mum on whether they will vote for a bill that includes language calling on the Department of Justice (DoJ) to investigate the notorious Coconut Road earmark when that measure comes to the House floor Wednesday. (The Hill)
Ethics Complaints Sheathed: Even though both Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) recently called for the ethics committee to investigate members of the other’s party — fighting words by any standard — neither took the next step of triggering an investigation, effectively pulling their punches. (Roll Call)
New disclosure reports lack clarity: The much-touted new lobbying disclosure reports are now available. But beware: They do little to make it easier to track the nation’s influence class. (Politico)
Lawmakers Want Hearing on Ties Between Sect, Defense Contracts: The Defense Department has contracted with three companies that are closely tied to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and some lawmakers want to know if money from those deals supported the sect, whose ranch was raided this month after allegations of child abuse. (Washington Post)