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C.R.E.W.: Murtha 'Most Corrupt'
Newsmax ^ | 11-13-06 | Newsmax Staff

Posted on 11/13/2006 4:48:44 PM PST by xtinct

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) questioned soon-to-be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's, D-Calif., commitment to eradicating corruption with her endorsement of one of the most unethical members in Congress, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., to be majority meader of the House of Representatives.

Murtha was listed in CREW's report, "Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch)." As reported in the study and by the news media, Murtha has been involved in a number of pay-to-play schemes involving former staffers and his brother, Robert "Kit" Murtha.

Eight incumbents in CREW's report lost their races because of ethics issues.

"Future House Speaker Pelosi's endorsement of Rep. Murtha, one of the most unethical members of Congress, shows that she may have prioritized ethics reform merely to win votes with no real commitment to changing the culture of corruption," Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW said Monday. "How can Americans believe that the Democrats will return integrity to the House when future Speaker Pelosi has endorsed an ethically-challenged member for a leadership position? Rep. Murtha is the wrong choice for this job."

Not only is Murtha beset by ethics issues, the New York Times reported on Oct. 2 that he has consistently opposed ethics and earmark reform. Sloan continued, "Rep. Murtha's opposition to ethics reform does not bode well for future Speaker Pelosi's promise to enact ethics legislation in the first 100 hours of the new Congress."

CREW's report can be found at Beyond Delay


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: abscam; corruption; cultureofcorruption; kanjorski; murtha; paulkanjorski; pelosi; polosi; senate
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

It will be an interesting show and tell.


61 posted on 11/14/2006 6:47:22 AM PST by Grampa Dave (They Bush haters on both sides have elected the government they have dreamed of!)
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To: Grampa Dave
Preceding piece from CQ:

November 13, 2006
The Politics Of The Personal

********************AN EXCERPT *************************

Nancy Pelosi surprised political analysts by injecting herself into an intraparty fight over the House leadership position. Despite Steny Hoyer's efforts to win the midterms as Minority Leader, Pelosi endorsed John Murtha to replace him in the majority. Her first effort as Speaker-elect gives a preview of Pelosi's leadership style and the importance of personal relationships over political pragmatism:

**********************************

*******************************

That personal relationship springs from Pelosi's own bid for party leadership, but isn't limited to it. Murtha ran her campaign for Minority Leader, lending her his prestige and his legendary power gained through years of work in the Appropriations committee. That power also gave Pelosi a more substantial remuneration, as Roll Call noted last year (via The Astute Blogger):

Republican lawmakers say that ties between Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and his brother's lobbying firm, KSA Consulting, may warrant investigation by the House ethics committee...

According to a June 13 article in The Los Angeles Times, the fiscal 2005 defense appropriations bill included more than $20 million in funding for at least 10 companies for whom KSA lobbied. Carmen Scialabba, a longtime Murtha aide, works at KSA as well. KSA directly lobbied Murtha's office on behalf of seven companies, and a Murtha aide told a defense contractor that it should retain KSA to represent it, according to the LA Times.

In early 2004, Murtha reportedly leaned on U.S. Navy officials to sign a contract to transfer the Hunters Point Shipyard to the city of San Francisco, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. A company called Lennar Inc. had right to the land, and Laurence Pelosi, nephew to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was an executive with the firm at that time.

In other words, Pelosi owes Murtha for the boost to family fortunes. She's merely repaying the debt. This should raise eyebrows on both sides of the aisle, especially since Pelosi successfully ran an election by decrying the "culture of corruption" in Republican ranks. The power of earmarks to distort American politics raises its ugly head once more, and voters who somehow thought they elected a cleaner government will understand that they put porkers in charge of the trough once again.

And the shift makes no sense at all, following as it does a successful midterm election. Hoyer provided the leadership for that victory, at least in part, and Murtha probably presented more of a drag than a sail. Pelosi's openness to change in this instance undermines the argument for electing her as Speaker. If pre-election leadership doesn't carry any significance for post-election leadership positions, then why make Pelosi speaker? Why not select someone who represents the centrists that gave Democrats the majority rather than the Bay area liberals that Pelosi represents?

Pelosi should have stayed out of the fray. It may turn into a Pandoa's box that she would have been better advised to leave closed. If she loses, she's damaged goods right from the start.

Posted by Captain Ed at November 13, 2006 06:09 AM

62 posted on 11/14/2006 6:50:40 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: Grampa Dave

See #62.....speaking of corruption and culture....she could go down...or maybe should.....


63 posted on 11/14/2006 6:51:50 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: xtinct
Man,these next two years are gonna be fun to watch! The Rats will screw up the economy and then go after our guns,the Internet,kiss the terrorist's butts,attempt to screw up my health care,Gasoline will go back up.(Our great thug Governor Rendell already wants to raise gas tax 10 cents a gallon!) As The G Man used to say on his radio show:SUCKERS! And how will the Rat media spin all this?
64 posted on 11/14/2006 6:53:15 AM PST by 4yearlurker (I'm surrounded by Union Dems in the 12th district! Alone in the wilderness.)
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To: All
Chasing some of the links....RollCALL here

GOP Lawmakers Float Ethics Probe of Murtha

***********************************AN EXCERPT ****************************

By John Bresnahan
Roll Call Staff


Republican lawmakers say that ties between Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and his brother’s lobbying firm, KSA Consulting, may warrant investigation by the House ethics committee.

 

Login | Subscribe to Rollcall.com

65 posted on 11/14/2006 6:55:20 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: xtinct

Take time to look at CREW's "Beyond Delay" report. They have listed the 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress, seventeen of the twenty are Republicans. One of them mentioned has been a personal friend of my family's for over thirty years. The report cites him as filtering millions of dollars to family and friends. That is absolutely bogus, and I know that for a fact. He lives well within his means and very modestly, as does his family.


66 posted on 11/14/2006 6:55:37 AM PST by Toespi
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

I believe that SF Mayor Newsome may have some levels of involvement in these cases.

Piglosi at this time is protected by the MSM. Which is why very little of this got out before the election plus the fact that she and her husband have a vineyard/winery which is non union and other non union work sites in other elite places owned by her husband and her.


67 posted on 11/14/2006 6:58:25 AM PST by Grampa Dave (They Bush haters on both sides have elected the government they have dreamed of!)
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To: Grampa Dave
WILL STENY HOYER OUT THE UTTERLY CORRUPT PELOSI-MURTHA CONNECTION?

From the ASTUTE-BLOGGER

************************AN EXCERPT **********************************

HAVE WE HEARD THE FIRST SHOT OVER THE BOW? HAS THE PELOSI-GATE SCANDAL BEGUN!? NRO:

************************More EXCERPTS***************************

JUST HOW CLOSE ARE PELOSI AND MURTHA??? THIS CLOSE:

Murtha steered business to HIS BROTHER'S LOBBYING FIRM - KSA - and helped Pelosi get a big project for her district which DIRECTLY BENEFITTED A RELATIVE OF HERS.

KJ Lopez of NRO's THE CORNER linked to a JUNE 13, 2005 LA TIMES article about just such an impending investigation: LATIMES (this link is to an anti-Bush blog which excerpted the article; the actual article has"mysteriously" disappeared from the LATIMEs own website) -
LATIMES: "When Congress passed the $417-billion Pentagon spending bill last ear, Rep. John P. Murtha, the top Democrat on the House defense appropriations subcommittee, boasted about the money he secured to create jobs in his Pennsylvania district.

But the bill Murtha helped write also benefited at least 10 companies represented by a lobbying firm where his brother, Robert "Kit" Murtha, is a senior partner, according to disclosure records, interviews and an analysis of the bill by The Times."
ROLL CALL put it this way:
Republican lawmakers say that ties between Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and his brother's lobbying firm, KSA Consulting, may warrant investigation by the House ethics committee...

According to a June 13 article in The Los Angeles Times, the fiscal 2005 defense appropriations bill included more than $20 million in funding for at least 10 companies for whom KSA lobbied. Carmen Scialabba, a longtime Murtha aide, works at KSA as well. KSA directly lobbied Murtha's office on behalf of seven companies, and a Murtha aide told a defense contractor that it should retain KSA to represent it, according to the LA Times.

In early 2004, Murtha reportedly leaned on U.S. Navy officials to sign a contract to transfer the Hunters Point Shipyard to the city of San Francisco, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. A company called Lennar Inc. had right to the land, and Laurence Pelosi, nephew to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was an executive with the firm at that time.

Murtha also inserted earmarks in defense bills that steered millions of dollars in federal research funds toward companies owned by children of fellow Pennsylvania Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D).
Murtha also flexed his muscles with the DOD to get his boss, Pelosi a big DOD deal for her district:
The agreement came a few weeks after the Navy sent Newsom a letter saying that it was having doubts about going ahead with an agreement that was announced with great fanfare in Washington in January 2002 by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, then-Mayor Willie Brown and Navy Secretary Gordon England.

When he was in Washington last Wednesday, Newsom met in the Capitol offices of Pelosi, the House minority leader, with Pelosi, Navy Assistant Secretary Hansford T. Johnson, representatives of California Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, and Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a big gun brought in by Pelosi to convince the Navy the time for delays had passed.

Murtha, the powerful ranking Democrat on the House military appropriations subcommittee, made it clear to the Navy that he wanted a binding agreement signed by Wednesday. Another meeting was held in Pelosi's offices Wednesday, minus Newsom, and the Navy signed the accord.
PELOSI-GATE BEGINS... or it would if the MSM was unbiased and fair...

11/13 UPDATE: Welcome PJM and CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS readers. And thanks to them both for doing their bit to make sure that the corrupt Pelosi and Murtha are held accountable.

68 posted on 11/14/2006 7:00:55 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: Grampa Dave
NOW this is a REAL Interesting ....tangential point....................

************************************

KJ Lopez of NRO's THE CORNER linked to a JUNE 13, 2005 LA TIMES article about just such an impending investigation: LATIMES (this link is to an anti-Bush blog which excerpted the article; the actual article has"mysteriously" disappeared from the LATIMEs own website) -

69 posted on 11/14/2006 7:02:37 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: All
Googling...leads to this:

11.20.05
The ethics "smear" against John Murtha
Joshua Holland (11:10AM) link

**************************************************

John Murtha -- an über-hawk Dem -- stood up and proclaimed his opposition to the fiasco in Iraq. He deserves credit for doing so.

He's getting a belly-full of political buckshot instead.

In addition to calling him a coward, as Jean Schmidt did on the House floor Friday, or saying he had adopted a policy of "cut and run," as Dennis Hastert did the day before, Republicans are talking about launching an ethics probe into some of Murtha's dabbling in the old military-industrial complex.

Sadly, on the face of it, it looks like there's much to probe. This is from Rollcall (I don't have a subscription, so no link, but a hat-tip to MoveOn's Tom Mazzie):

Republican lawmakers say that ties between Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and his brother's lobbying firm, KSA Consulting, may warrant investigation by the House ethics committee.
[...]

According to a June 13 article in The Los Angeles Times, the fiscal 2005 defense appropriations bill included more than $20 million in funding for at least 10 companies for whom KSA lobbied. Carmen Scialabba, a longtime Murtha aide, works at KSA as well.

KSA directly lobbied Murtha's office on behalf of seven companies, and a Murtha aide told a defense contractor that it should retain KSA to represent it, according to the LA Times.

In early 2004, Murtha reportedly leaned on U.S. Navy officials to sign a contract to transfer the Hunters Point Shipyard to the city of San Francisco, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. A company called Lennar Inc. had right to the land, and Laurence Pelosi, nephew to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was an executive with the firm at that time.

Murtha also inserted earmarks in defense bills that steered millions of dollars in federal research funds toward companies owned by children of fellow Pennsylvania Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D).

Murtha and KSA have denied engaging in any improper or unethical behavior. Murtha's offices in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., could not be reached for comment at press time.

Some on the left will call for a fight against this "smear," but they can count me out.

I say that not because I don't think the Repubs' going after Murtha isn't absolutely despicable, because it is. And it's not because it isn't transparently motivated by politics - it is certainly that, too.

It's because we'll never get anywhere until we stand for something, and that something should, obviously, be reform.

And while those who say there's no difference between the two parties -- that they live on the same dime and represent the same interests -- are clearly not paying close enough attention, I also don't believe for a second that saying 'we're 50 percent less corrupt than they are!' is going to move Joe voter. And it shouldn't.

So, yes, we should fight back against the meme that dissenting on the war is unpatriotic or cowardly. But before jumping to Murtha's defense on these ethics issues, we should remember that the Republicans' "culture of corruption" is prime fodder for the next election cycle.

As I've said before, there's a tone-deafness in DC about the (largely accurate) perception that Democrats share the same corrupt culture and are unwilling to challenge the business-as-usual status quo. We can talk all we want about Jack Abramofff, but as I pointed out last week, Harry Reid reportedly took over sixty grand from Abramoff's casino clients and then appeared to intervene on their behalf (in politics, appearing to do something is the same as doing it).

This after we learned that Byron Dorgan and Tom Harkin used Abramoff's skybox for fundraising and also took donations from those same Abramoff clients. Does anyone doubt for a second that we'll hear about that each and every time some Democrat brings Abramoff up on one of the Sunday shows in 2006?

And if we simply point out the fact that the ethics issue is arising from partisan politics, doesn't that put us on the same page as Tom DeLay?

The Dems should be talking about clean elections and other real reforms so that in the long run they won't have to continue to play the same game. And if Murtha or other Dems aren't doing the right thing, we should drop them like a hot potato. No sacred cows. They've got to clean up their own act before they can preach credibly to others.

There are only two ways that the Dems can win in "Red" America: they can move to the right on social issues -- alienating their base more than they already have -- or they can become the party of reform, like the Repubs in 1994.

If they can't grasp that simple calculus, you can forget about a sea-change anytime soon.

70 posted on 11/14/2006 7:10:03 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: xtinct

bump


71 posted on 11/14/2006 7:14:00 AM PST by ShowMeMom (America: The home of the FREE because of the BRAVE.)
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To: All
Link to :

ABOUT LENNAR

**************************AN EXCERPT **************************

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Look for one of the following Lennar brands in your area to build the home of your dreams: Admiral, Barker Coleman, Cambridge, Greystone, Lennar, NuHome, Patriot, U.S. Home, and Village Builders

72 posted on 11/14/2006 7:15:57 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: ChurtleDawg

See updates....


73 posted on 11/14/2006 7:16:30 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: ViLaLuz

See later posts .....


74 posted on 11/14/2006 7:24:05 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: All
More:

The Renaissance of the Hunters Point Shipyard

***********************************

The first phase of the Hunters Point Shipyard redevelopment is now underway. The grading stage of construction started in January and will continue throughout 2006.

The eleven Community Benefits programs are ongoing in the Bayview-Hunters Point community. As part of the partnership between Lennar/BVHP and the city of San Francisco, the Community Benefits programs are creating opportunities to support and enrich out neighborhood.

Please take a moment to research these programs, which include the Homebuyers Assistance program and the Small Business database and the BVHP Area yellow pages. This website will provide information on workshops and meetings that have important information for the community.

This is a historic moment for the Bayview-Hunters Point community. By working together, we are helping the Shipyard and the community to enjoy the renaissance they deserve.

Welcome to Hunters Point Shipyard.

75 posted on 11/14/2006 7:36:41 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: All
More:

Phase 1 Overview

*********************

Phase I is the foundation to the Shipyard’s redevelopment. It is visionary in its reuse of the Shipyard and its benefits to and involvement of the local community. Phase I encompasses Parcel A of the six Navy-designated parcels. Nearly 63 of the Shipyard’s 500 acres will undergo infrastructure improvements to support 1,238 homes and nearly 25 acres of recreation and open space. This includes the deconstruction and demolition of existing structures as well as the installation of new lines for sewer, gas and electric along with new streets, sidewalks and landscaping.

Phase I is designed to accelerate the redevelopment benefits to the Bayview Hunters Point community. The majority of the Shipyard’s total homes will be located on Parcel A. In addition, the Community Benefits Agreement between Lennar/BVHP and the city of San Francisco includes priority programs for community residents and businesses, providing for job training, hiring and contracting. It also includes provisions for community ownership and community-based developers involvement.

The phased approach mirrors the Navy’s clean-up schedule. Parcel A was ready for conveyance in Spring 2005, following federal and state regulatory approval and independent verification by the City of San Francisco that the site is clean and safe for development. Once the land was accepted by the Redevelopment Agency, construction began in Summer 2005, and is currently ongoing on Parcel A.


Click here for more information on Community Benefits.


 

76 posted on 11/14/2006 7:39:53 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: All
Missing LA Times article detailing Murtha's activities in sharing the wealth is here:

June 13, 2005 Los Angeles Times
Lobbyist's Brother Guided House Bill

*********************************AN EXCERPT *****************************

A family member's ties to special interests raise questions in the case of Democrat John Murtha.
By Ken Silverstein and Richard Simon, Times Staff Writers

WASHINGTON — When Congress passed the $417-billion Pentagon spending bill last year, Rep. John P. Murtha, the top Democrat on the House defense appropriations subcommittee, boasted about the money he secured to create jobs in his Pennsylvania district.
   But the bill Murtha helped write also benefited at least 10 companies represented by a lobbying firm where his brother, Robert "Kit" Murtha, is a senior partner, according to disclosure records, interviews and an analysis of the bill by The Times.
   Clients of the lobbying firm KSA Consulting — whose top officials also include former congressional aide Carmen V. Scialabba, who worked for Rep. Murtha for 27 years — received a total of $20.8 million from the bill.
   One of the clients, a small Arkansas maker of military vehicles, received $1.7 million, triple its total sales for 2004. Several other clients received money that represented more than half of their annual sales from last year.
   KSA directly lobbied the congressman's office on behalf of seven companies that received money from the bill, records and interviews show. Among those clients, a firm based in Maryland received one of the larger individual awards, $4.2 million.
   And a defense contractor based in Pennsylvania said he hired KSA on the recommendation of a top aide of the congressman.
   Disclosure of Kit Murtha's ties to the lobbying firm prompted criticism from Keith Ashdown of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan Washington watchdog group that tracks government spending.
   "Family members lobbying family members is becoming an all-too-common phenomenon on Capitol Hill," he said. "What's even more troubling is that decisions about defense dollars are being made at family reunions rather than the halls of Congress."
   Kit Murtha said in a phone interview that he did not lobby his brother's office and that he saw no problem working for a firm that did.
   "Let's be honest, the name certainly creates some kind of impression, but I can't help that," he said. "We're not doing anything improper or underhanded. I'm entitled to make a living like the next guy."
   Rep. Murtha and his staff declined to answer questions for this report. In public statements, the congressman has said money he inserted into the defense bill has helped make his district a center for national defense programs and has benefited the local economy.
   Murtha is the latest lawmaker to face questions about lobbying activities by family members. Political leaders from both parties have drawn criticism over similar ties to special interest groups.
   The appropriations to KSA clients were made through a series of itemized awards attached to the massive Pentagon budget bill. The awards are called "earmarks" and must be sponsored by at least one member of Congress.

77 posted on 11/14/2006 9:47:50 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: ChurtleDawg

I still hate CREW....they are a bigger danger than Murtha....


78 posted on 11/14/2006 9:48:44 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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