Free Republic

President Obama's dogfight against the F-22 fighter jet just got more complicated, as House defense appropriators on Thursday decided to fund $369 million for parts to build 12 more Lockheed Martin radar-evading jets after 2010. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), the chairman of the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee, decided to fund $369 million for the advance procurement of parts to build 12 more F-22s. The amount is the same as is included in the 2010 defense authorization bill the House has already passed.

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) is threatening to renew his assault on defense earmarks if the ethics committee isn’t seriously investigating corruption allegations surrounding member-directed contracts. “I’m frustrated that all of this is hanging out there,” Flake said. “There seems to be a new story every day, and we’re still going through the appropriations cycle as if nothing is amiss.” Flake suspects that Democrats will prevent a thorough examination of earmarks in the defense-spending bill by restricting debate on the measure. He said he thinks Democrats are purposely moving the defense bill to the floor late this year so that it...

he economy is going to hell in a hand basket, and several Democratic scandals are being shoved under the rug by the MSM. Right now, the biggest political battle is NOT Sotomayor's confirmation hearing - it's Obamacare! And even though a plurality of American oppose Obama's proposed healthcare reform, the Left is content to shove it down our throats regardless. http://diggsandburies.blogspot.com/

Congressman John Murtha reminds me of Big Julie in play Guys and Dolls, who boasts: “I got a poifect record: thoity-three arrests, no convictions.” Months ago, the FBI raided the offices of the PMA group. What they found suggested that Murtha and his buddies at the PMA Group operated their own little Earmark Factory. But that was just the tip of the iceberg, another one of John Murtha's most favorite contractors was charged for taking $200,000 in kickbacks, the FBI is Investigating Multi-Billion-Dollar Murtha favored Defense Contractor With Tax-Exempt Status, Murtha has even gotten family into the earmark business, and...

Link only - GOP unifies against any more stimulus spending

WASHINGTON — With the current chairman under fire for his connections to a lobbying firm under FBI investigation, Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., could be in line to take over the chairmanship of the House panel that oversees Pentagon funding. But even as that possibility looms, Dicks himself faces increased scrutiny for his relationship to the lobbying firm at the heart of the investigation. So far, Dicks hasn't been sucked into the latest earmark-campaign contribution scandal on Capitol Hill, though he and a handful of other lawmakers have skated around the edges. Dicks adamantly denies any wrongdoing and said he hasn't...

Printer-friendly formatsponsored by DOJ Says Murtha Earmark Money Was Illicitly Distributed July 9, 2009, 3:34 p.m. By Paul SingerRoll Call Staff Updated 3:56 p.m.A contracting firm that had hired the brother of Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) as its lobbyist took the proceeds from a Murtha-provided, $8.2 million Air Force earmark and distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to other companies represented by the Congressman’s brother for items that were not part of the project, the Justice Department charged Thursday. The charges make no indication that the Congressman had any involvement or knowledge of the transactions. Roll Call reported in...

Sorry folks, I didn't include any stories about Obama gawking at the posterior of an unaware teenager. You can read about that everywhere else. The Democratic party (from Blago to Conyers to Murtha) is riddled with scandal right now. On the upside, Cap & Tax has been shelved until the fall. Nonetheless, we have some quality articles for you to read and digg today: http://diggsandburies.blogspot.com/

There was a LOT of substantive news today. Beyond the "reformed" and released Gitmo detainee, Mullah Zakir, fighting in Afghanistan to kill American troops, there is some lighter news. Our Marines are man-handling the Taliban to such a point that the terrorists are dawning burqas to scurry away like frightened mice. We hope you enjoy the substance of today's news diggs! http://diggsandburies.blogspot.com/

Richard Ianieri, the defense contractor charged today with accepting $200,000 in kickbacks from a subcontractor, was president of a company that gave more money to Rep. John Murtha than any other lawmaker. That company, Coherent Systems International, received millions of dollars in earmarks from Murtha, and continued giving money to the Pennsylvania Democrat after Ianieri left Coherent and Argon ST bought it. The criminal complaint filed yesterday reportedly did not name the subcontractor, according to Roll Call. In total, the employees of Coherent, and employees and political action committees of Argon and its subsidiaries, have given $81,950 to Murtha's campaign...

For the past several years, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has funneled more than $3 million in earmarks to a company in his district to build an underwater “swimmer detection” sonar system for the Navy to use to protect its docks and ships. But the company, KDH Defense Systems, sews bulletproof vests. It had never built a sonar system and had no expertise in sonar engineering. The sonar project was to be the first product of a new “startup” company. Documents indicate the company did have a plan — which never came to pass — to partner with other local defense...

Federal prosecutors filed corruption charges yesterday against a onetime defense contractor who has ties to both U.S. Rep. John Murtha and a suburban Johnstown defense contractor currently under criminal investigation. Richard S. Ianieri, former president and CEO of Coherent Systems International Corp., was accused of accepting $200,000 in kickbacks. He is charged through a criminal information and is expected to plead guilty. No date has yet been set. According to the court filing entered yesterday, Mr. Ianieri is accused of taking the kickbacks from a date unknown through January 2006 while an officer for Coherent, which was a prime contractor...

A former executive for a defense contractor with ties to powerful Democratic U.S. Rep. John Murtha is charged by federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh with taking about $200,000 in kickbacks from a subcontractor. The executive charged is Richard Ianieri, of Doylestown, who used to work for a company called Coherent Systems International Corp.

About 300 - 400 patriots turned out for the Indiana, Pa. Tea Party in front of the Indiana County Courthouse. Not a bad turnout for a little-advertised event in a small town! There were Republicans, Democrats and Independents present. We had one disruptor carrying an "obama" sign who said his parents were going to lose their house and Obama took care of it for them. Just wait until "obamacare" throws them under the bus! He was yelling "obama! Obama!". We yelled "USA! USA!" The speaker pointed out that he had the right to free speech as well and everybody cheered!...

Murtha Snubs District With Cap & Trade Vote by Bill Smith-Wednesday, July 1, 2009 District Residents Could See $2K Jump In Utility Rates (JOHNSTOWN, PA) – Ignoring the importance of the coal industry in the 12th Congressional district, incumbent Rep. John Murtha (D) voted with his Democrat party leadership in supporting the Obama Energy Bill in the late night hours Friday. The bill, also called “Cap and Trade,” would heavily tax energy derived from fossil fuels such as coal and oil. “Our local residents could see as much as a fifty percent increase in their home utility costs,” said William...

<p>ANN ARBOR, MI – Nearly four years after the so-called “Haditha Massacre,� an investigation conducted by over 65 NCIS agents (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) ─ the largest investigation in that agency’s history ─ with the expenditure of millions of taxpayer dollars, and prosecution losses at every stage of the criminal process, the government is still pursuing legal action against  Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.</p>

House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha, D-Pa., said Wednesday he would likely attach language to his panel's version of the fiscal 2010 Defense appropriations bill to encourage the Air Force to buy two types of aerial refueling tankers. Murtha has long advocated awarding the lucrative contract to the two aerospace rivals now vying for it, but he indicated he would stop short of requiring the Pentagon to pursue the split-buy strategy for the tankers. Under language he is drafting, Murtha said the decision ultimately would be up to the Pentagon, which has steadfastly opposed buying more than one type...

Three of the most senior House appropriators are planning to discuss exporting Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor fighter jet to the Japanese government, which wants badly to buy the stealth plane. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), the chairman of the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee, said Wednesday that he intends to meet in the coming days with Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) and Rep. Bill Young (Fla.), Murtha’s GOP counterpart on the Defense subcommittee, to discuss lifting the export ban on the F-22. The key player in that briefing will be Obey, who in 1998 wrote the legislation that bans the exports...

Congressman John Murtha, the King of Congressional Pork acts may be losing his Teflon coating and his friends are getting a bit nervous. A few months ago, the FBI raided the offices of the PMA group. What they found suggested that Murtha and his buddies at the PMA Group operated their own little Earmark Factory. A later report suggested that the FBI may be zeroing in on the relationship between Murtha and PMA. No worries for Mr. Murtha, despite the FBI putting the heat on his PMA relationship, the Porkmeister is is still accepting money from PMA clients and still...

The FBI’s raid of the once-highflying PMA Group has sent a cold chill through the insular world of defense appropriations lobbying. While fallout from the raid has hit lobbyists and clients of the PMA Group the most, even defense lobbyists with strong ties to Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) but no affiliation to PMA are worried their once-vaunted connections to the senior defense appropriator could become tarnished. The lobbyists are fearful the federal investigation into defense lobbying, coming on the heels of former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s (R-Calif.) and Jack Abramoff’s high-profile scandals, could make it even more difficult to request...

The commandant of the Marine Corps has appointed one of his deputies to decide the next step in the case against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, who was charged with dereliction of duty after 24 Iraqi civilians were slain in the city of Haditha in 2005. Lt. Gen. George Flynn, deputy commandant for combat development and integration, was named the new convening authority over the Chessani matter last week, a Marine Corps spokesman said Monday. Flynn was given the task by Gen. James Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps. Conway was handed the Chessani case last month after a military judge...

Some of the Most annoying pork barrel earmarks are the ones were Congressmen and Senators use public dollars to create tributes to themselves. For example there is the $200 Million for the John Murtha Airport which gets a total of THREE commercial flights a day. This tribute to the Living Pork King John Murtha is literally the airport to nowhere. Or Charlie Rangel, who directed almost TWO MILLION Dollars for a City College project named the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service. These "monument to me" pork barrel projects are quite common. There are claims that half the state...

Welcome to your money at work in PA

WASHINGTON – The revelation that Democratic appropriations kingpins may face a House ethics investigation of their campaign receipts from lobbyists for recipients of government grants and contracts moves Republicans closer to gaining a corruption issue in 2010. ... The Democratic chairman and senior Republican on the House ethics committee dropped their political bomb Thursday night, announcing that the panel is reviewing the practice of lawmakers steering money and contracts to favored companies, and then receiving campaign contributions in return for the "earmarks." The announcement came months after the Justice Department began a criminal investigation of the matter and a repetition...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers who steer money and contracts to favored companies and receive campaign contributions in return could face a House ethics committee investigation. The ethics committee's Democratic chairman and its ranking Republican said Thursday that the committee has been reviewing the practice — which came under scrutiny because of a Justice Department criminal investigation of a now-defunct lobbying firm, PMA. Lobbyists for the firm and their clients — the recipients of lawmakers' pet hometown projects known as "earmarks" — contributed substantial amounts to several lawmakers including three key Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee. Rep. John Murtha of...

WASHINGTON (AP) — House members and their families suffered through investment losses like millions of Americans last year, a sampling of financial disclosure statements showed Wednesday. The economic downturn also sparked some cautionary moves. Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, reported capital losses between $100,001 and $1 million when he sold stock in American International Group, the insurance giant given a hefty federal bailout. ~snip~ Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., known for dispensing pet projects to his western Pennsylvania district, lists his largest asset as $50,001 to $100,000 in Wesbanco, a bank holding company.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a step forward earlier this week when she directed Dan Beard, the chief administrative officer of the U.S. House of Representatives, to begin posting online quarterly reports of how representatives spend their official office accounts. Members use these accounts to hire staff, lease automobiles and office equipment, and pay for official lunches, as well as a host of other things. To grasp the importance of these accounts, one need only recall that for years, the reports could only be viewed in an obscure office buried deep in the bowels of the Capitol building. So hardly...

Folks, the Murtha story isn’t going away. The Washington Post writes, “Murtha, who was celebrated at the LBK Ranch with a fundraiser held in his honor, last week sidestepped questions about $50 million in earmarked funds and contracts he has helped direct to Kuchera Defense Systems and Kuchera Industries Inc. since 2001. But newly obtained documents and interviews show that the current federal investigation is only the latest chapter in the troubled history of the Kuchera brothers' business ventures.” "Worried by their prospects in the House, Democrats postponed final action on a nearly $100 billion wartime spending bill until next...

Companies Under Investigation Have Gotten Millions in EarmarksCROYLE TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Inside the LBK Ranch, a private game preserve on a scenic hilltop here, guests mingle at a stone lodge after hunting deer and wild boar. Signs posted at intervals along the fence warn: "No Trespassing: U.S. Govt. Testing Facility." Defense firm owner Bill Kuchera and his wife, Lena, the owners of the 161-acre property, live in an upscale log home within the preserve and go to extensive efforts to keep out strangers. There are no visible signs of government testing, but behind the 10-foot fence and electronic gate lies...

Seeking to head off Republicans, Democratic leaders on Wednesday pushed through a resolution requiring the House ethics committee to disclose what actions it has taken in responding to the controversy over the PMA Group, a once prominent lobbying firm now at the center of a Justice Department criminal probe. The largely partisan vote was 270-134, with 17 members, including members of the ethics committee, voting “present.” Led by Rep. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), have been calling for a PMA investigation by the ethics committee for months, but Democrats have resisted, arguing that it is not necessary and just an attempt by...

A Johnstown-area defense firm under investigation for possible contract fraud received an infusion of cash during its start-up years from a narcotics trafficker with whom one of the company's founders admitted engaging in the drug trade. At the time, Kuchera Industries was a startup company that assembled electronics components and sought federal contracts -- contracts that would ultimately make the company and its sister firm, Kuchera Defense Systems, multimillion-dollar businesses. Peter Whorley, a Florida man and business associate of William Kuchera, one of the top officers at the companies, put up $50,000 to help Kuchera Industries find its feet, according...

Defense firm got money from drug dealer Thursday, June 04, 2009 By Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette A Johnstown-area defense firm under investigation for possible contract fraud received an infusion of cash during its start-up years from a narcotics trafficker with whom one of the company's founders admitted engaging in the drug trade. At the time, Kuchera Industries was a startup company that assembled electronics components and sought federal contracts -- contracts that would ultimately make the company and its sister firm, Kuchera Defense Systems, multimillion-dollar businesses. Peter Whorley, a Florida man and business associate of William Kuchera, one of...

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has avoided saying much about the travails of his one-time leadership rival, Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha. But that collegiality is beginning to fade. On Thursday, Hoyer argued that a vague resolution the House passed Wednesday was a clear call for the ethics committee to investigate ties between a once powerful lobbying firm and a handful of his fellow Democrats, including Murtha, the man who challenged him for the majority leader's post in late 2006. “This is a serious matter and ought to be looked at," Hoyer said Thursday morning at a Christian Science Monitor...

The House on Wednesday approved a resolution requiring the House ethics committee to report on the status of any investigation into a now-defunct lobbying firm and its ties to lawmakers. The unusual move by Democratic leaders came in the wake of steady Republican pressure on the ethics controversy and is aimed at giving vulnerable Democratic members political cover. The resolution, offered by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), would force the ethics committee to disclose within 45 days whether it is investigating the nexus between campaign contributions and earmarks PMA Group clients have received. The measure specifically requires the ethics panel...

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is making plans to offer a resolution as early as Wednesday afternoon that will provide Democrats political cover on an FBI investigation into the now-defunct PMA Group and its ties to senior Democratic lawmakers. The resolution would force the ethics committee to disclose whether it is investigating the nexus between campaign contributions and earmarks PMA Group clients have received, according to knowledgeable Democratic sources. Such a move would implicate Reps. Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.), whose office the FBI subpoenaed for documents last week, as well as Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) because both are top recipients of...

You have to give pork king, John Murtha points for creativity. Between the nepotism, creating a new federal drug abuse agency and his own airport, Murtha constantly finds new ways to cheat the public by creating new earmarks that waste federal funds. The latest Murtha revelation is just pure artwork. The pork king has figured out a way to turn a regular defense contractor, Commonwealth Research Institute, into a not for profit charity, saving the company at least $15 Million Dollars in taxes. Have no fear though, their not for profit status has absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact...

Murtha Apparently Moved Earmark Between Brother’s Clients By Paul Singer Roll Call Staff June 3, 2009, 12 a.m. In early 2005, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) apparently added language to a tsunami relief bill shifting $8.2 million from a former client of his brother’s lobbying firm to a new client of the same firm. That earmark is now tangled up in a federal indictment alleging that some of the money was skimmed by contractors and a Defense Department employee for their personal use. Murtha’s spokesman said that no one in his office has any recollection of the transaction, and the House...

FBI Investigating Multi-Billion-Dollar Defense Contractor With Tax-Exempt Status In Congressman's HometownCBS News has learned the FBI is investigating a little-known not-for-profit organization called Commonwealth Research Institute. It's located, like a lot of Rep. John Murtha's, D-Penn., pet projects, in his hometown, Johnstown, Penn. Commonwealth gets the same benefits as the Salvation Army or any other charity: It doesn't have to pay taxes. But its line of work may be surprising. It's a defense contractor. "It certainly raises a question," says Dean Zerbe, a former top Senate investigator. He questions Commonwealth's tax exempt status, saying it seems to do business just...

The Growing Intensity Of Ad Hominem Attacks Has Led Congress To Become Increasingly DysfunctionalSomeone recently asked me what, after all these years around politics -- 25 years of covering politics, 37 years involved in one way or another -- I liked best and what bothered me the most. To my alarm, I found myself exhibiting far more passion in delineating what I didn't like: the increasingly hateful tone of the discourse, the hypocrisy of selective outrage and the feigning of disgust over behavior of an opponent while turning a blind eye when it occurs in one's own party. To be...

Reform Bills Are Increasingly Winning Support From Democrats At a time when the federal budget tops $3 trillion, it's easy to see why some regard earmarks, which account for an estimated 1 percent of spending, as insignificant.But calls on Capitol Hill to rein in earmark spending may get increasingly hard to ignore. President Obama has asked Congress to restrain earmarks, and Democrats and Republicans alike are pushing bills, resolutions and investigations aimed at curbing abuses.Fanning the anti-earmark fires are scandals involving Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa. The chairman of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, Murtha is now associated with so many...

Somerset County defense contractor accused of illegally possessing guns Monday, June 01, 2009 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The U.S. attorney's office has filed a forfeiture action against the owner of a Somerset County defense contractor, accusing him of illegally possessing nine firearms. According to the filing, William M. Kuchera is under investigation for mail fraud. Prosecutors says that agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Jan. 22 found five rifles, three shotguns and a pistol at Mr. Kuchera's home during the execution of a search warrant. The government contends that he is not permitted to possess weapons following...

John "Pay-to-Play" Murtha An investigation by the advocacy group Common Cause has determined that members of a key House defense subcommittee in 2008 allocated more than $350 million in military contracts to companies that had contributed handsomely to congressional representatives. Leading the way was Congressman John Murtha (D-PA), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, who funneled $166.5 million in defense contracts to some of his largest campaign contributors.  A key example was Concurrent Technologies, a tax-exempt corporation that manages the National Defense Center for Environmental Excellence (NDCEE), and a contributor of more than $12,000 to Murtha. According...

WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury has subpoenaed a Democratic congressman in a corruption probe, the first concrete indication that a long-simmering Justice Department investigation of a top lobbying firm also has the potential to seriously damage congressional careers. On Friday, Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., acknowledged the grand jury has demanded documents from his office, some employees and his campaign committees. The probe focuses on the PMA Group, a now-defunct lobbying firm that specialized in securing federal contracts for defense firms from Visclosky, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., and others on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee that Murtha chairs.

It looks as if the King of pork need should be looking over his shoulder, because the law is getting closer and closer to his swine-hooves. The latest revelation involves Gaucherie Defense Systems a company that has received almost $15 million dollars in Murtha earmark-directed defense contracts and most coincidentally has donated $60,000 to the pork-king's campaign committee. Allegations of fraud have caused the company to be banned from receiving any new Navy contracts. Murtha must be feeling the heat because when he was asked about Kuchera Defense Systems during a press opportunity he had a hissy fit:

Federal law enforcement officials have subpoenaed the congressional and campaign offices of Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.) to get information about a former defense lobby firm raided by the FBI, according to Visclosky. Certain Visclosky employees have also been sent grand jury subpoenas requesting documents related to the PMA Group, a lobby shop with strong ties to the Indiana lawmaker. Visclosky’s former chief of staff, Rich Kaelin, was a high-profile lobbyist at the firm that closed its doors at the end of March. “Federal law enforcement officials have issued grand jury subpoenas to my congressional office, campaign committees and certain employees...

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania defense contractor who got millions of dollars in congressional earmarks from Rep. John Murtha has been blocked from doing business with the Navy amid allegations of fraud. Word of the suspension came during an annual defense contractor trade show in Johnstown, Pa., the heart of Murtha's congressional district. Seven of the world's largest defense contractors, who have been among the veteran Pennsylvania Democrat's biggest campaign contributors over the years, are helping to bankroll this week's "Showcase for Commerce."

ON MONDAY we received an e- mail from Matt Mazonkey, the communications director for Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., disputing some statements in our day-before editorial, "House of Murtha." The editorial talked about the remarkable success of Mr. Murtha, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, in directing federal dollars to his Johnstown district. To take Mr. Mazonkey's objections in order: (1) "Robert Murtha [the congressman's defense-contractor nephew, who's corralled a stockyard of Pentagon business] isn't a 'Johnstown defense contractor.' His business is somewhere in MD [Maryland] and we've never done work with him." Answer: Robert Murtha may not reside...

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is pressing for new answers about funding for a counter-narcotics center that Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has supported for more than two decades. Coburn sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder late last week reiterating charges that the center in Johnstown, Pa., previously known as the National Defense Intelligence Center (NDIC) is a duplicative boondoggle and asking for the explanation behind a recently proposed name change. “I am concerned about both the costs and the motivation of this proposed name change,” Coburn wrote. A spokesman for the Department of Justice (DoJ) said only that Holder’s...

The Johnstown based National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) began with the blessing of President George HW Bush. Its mission: to collect and coordinate intelligence from often-feuding law enforcement agencies in order to provide a strategic look at the war on drugs (it was still called that at the time). But the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), worried that its pre-eminent role in the drug war was slipping away, fought the idea "tooth and nail". So did many on Capitol Hill, arguing that the new center would duplicate the efforts of existing intelligence centers, notably the El Paso Intelligence Center, operated by...

A $15,000 federal grant for police computers in one Monongahela Valley city slipped unnoticed past council and was awarded without competitive bids to a firm run by the son of then-Mayor Ken Cole, city officials said today. The contract is one of dozens under scrutiny by federal investigators who are looking into defense firms with ties to U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Johnstown. Mr. Murtha, who chairs the powerful House Appropriations defense subcommittee, was instrumental in securing millions of dollars in grants through the Department of Justice to upgrade communications systems for small towns. In one of those towns, Monongahela,...