The Mark Kelly Industrial Complex: Defense Contractor with Lucrative Pentagon Contracts Rents Plane to Arizona’s Vulnerable Democrat

breitbart.com ^ | 9/30/2022 | Nick Gilbertson

[rktman]

Sen. Mark Kelly’s (D-AZ) campaign has paid tens of thousands of dollars for plane rentals to an Arizona-based company that has been awarded lucrative contracts from the Department of Defense (DOD), including one contract funded by legislation Kelly voted for.

One of three contacts awarded to Newton Consulting & Engineering, Inc. (NCE) came last year after Kelly had been conducting business with the company and was serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee. In fact, Kelly voted for the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which gave the DOD funding it ultimately drew from for the contract. Of note, the DOD selects companies to award contracts to after receiving annual funding, not the U.S. Senate.

Since April 2021, the Mark Kelly for Senate committee has shelled out more than $80,000 to the Tuscon-based company for “Officially Connected” travel. Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute and the author of numerous best-sellers including Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win, spoke to Kelly’s ties in a statement to Breitbart News.

“It’s incumbent on our elected officials to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest. In this case, Senator Kelly has failed the test,” wrote Schweizer, a Breitbart News senior contributor.

Bob Newton, an Air Force veteran with service-linked disabilities, owns the company and confirmed to Breitbart News via email that Kelly has been “using [their] planes for regional travel.” NCE’s website makes no explicit reference to plane rentals on its publicly accessible pages, but it does note a “Specialized Aircraft Club,” which Newton says offers aircraft use to members.

“We matched Senator Kelly up with the planes that best fit his needs,” said Newton.

[rktman]

You mean he rented planes on our dime or were they from his personal wealth. Maybe campaign money? Come on AZ. Get rid of this disgrace to the USNavy uniform and his ass-tro-naught costume. What a UPOS 2nd amendment hater. 😵‍💫🤑

[Steely Tom]

This is Not A Problem when Democrats do it.

[Gaffer]

IMO, that guy is one despicable opportunist coward. Got to be a Senator because of his vegged wife who was shot in the head by a Democrat, BTW. He lied about guns, while buying guns and then figured he’d become a big time Senator by dragging mindless Gabby around for sympathy. Nothing but an opportunistic leftist joke.

[FlingWingFlyer]

This is friggin’ illegal. Somebody needs to lose their government contract.

[Pollard]

but it does note a “Specialized Aircraft Club,”

It's a club and you ain't in it.

[rktman]

Yeah, I don’t seem to be able to find a spare 80 grand sitting around.

[robowombat]

This is a bit like Robert McNamara owning a good bit of stock in the company that held a commanding position in Logex or Lady Bird Johnson owning a lot of stock in the holding company that controlled the company owning the only really new big hotel in Saigon.