"Don't be a schlep. If the two million is on the table when I awake from my nap, I know I have a partner, Michael. If not..."
Posted on 06/03/2006 3:42:37 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
The federal grand jury investigating the relationship between Rep. Jerry Lewis and a Washington lobbying firm has subpoenaed records from Riverside County and the Cal State San Bernardino Foundation, in addition to San Bernardino County and the city of Redlands, The Press-Enterprise confirmed Friday.
Officials with the University of Redlands, Loma Linda University Medical Center and Redlands-based ESRI declined to say whether their organizations had been served. All are or have been clients of the lobbying firm Copeland, Lowery & Jacquez, which has been linked to former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. The Rancho Santa Fe Republican pleaded guilty last year to tax evasion and bribery charges.
Lewis, R-Redlands, chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement Friday that he follows the "highest ethical standards" and that investigators ought to move on to more pressing matters.
Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, declined to comment Friday on the direction or potential target of the criminal investigation. Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for Copeland, Lowery & Jacquez, also declined to comment.
The Press-Enterprise reported Thursday that a subpoena issued to San Bernardino County on May 17 indicates that investigators from the FBI, Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the IRS want to examine the county's decision to hire the firm, billing statements and communications between county officials, the firm and Lewis. City of Redlands officials also confirmed receiving a subpoena.
It is not clear what crimes are being investigated. Lewis has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Lewis has a long history with Bill Lowery, one of the firm's partners. Lowery was a member of Congress from 1980 to 1993 and served with Lewis on the House Appropriations Committee. Former Lewis staff member Jeffrey Shockey worked for the lobbying firm but left last year to work for the House Appropriations Committee after Lewis assumed the chairmanship in January 2005.
More than two dozen Inland-area public agencies and private companies have retained the firm to lobby for funds that Lewis' committee controls. Copeland, Lowery & Jacquez clients have benefited from millions of dollars' worth of congressional earmarks -- special projects inserted into federal legislation by lawmakers -- and some of that funding was secured by Lewis.
Last year, 15,584 budget earmarks for lawmakers' pet projects across the country cost taxpayers $32.7 billion, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan budget watchdog group.
"I have always focused on providing the most possible benefits to my constituents, and I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish as a member of Congress," Lewis said in a statement. "I encourage a thorough review of any project I have helped secure for my constituents."
Attempts to reach Lewis at his district office and Redlands home Friday morning were unsuccessful.
Position of Power
Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, a nonpartisan research organization in Los Angeles, said Lewis, as appropriations chairman, is in a position of power. Such lawmakers attract a lot of contributions even if they don't need it.
"He's receiving government access money," Stern said in an interview earlier this month. "It's perfectly legal unless you're exchanging your decision for the money, and there's been no allegations that Lewis has done that."
The firm's lobbyists have donated $28,650 to Lewis' campaign since 2002. Lowery has contributed $23,000 to Lewis' political action committee.
Few federal restrictions exist to regulate conduct between lawmakers and lobbyists, said Craig Holman, legislative representative for Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer-advocacy organization.
Federal lobbying laws require only that some of the lobbyists' financial activity be disclosed, Holman said.
Twice a year, lobbyists file reports that identify their clients, detail who represented those clients, what legislation the firms were lobbying on and how much the clients paid.
Lobbyists may donate campaign money to lawmakers and give gifts worth $50 or less. They are allowed a one-year maximum of $100 per source. If a lobbyist is a personal friend of a member of Congress or an aide, the limit is $250 a year.
Lobbyists are not allowed to explicitly trade money, favors or gifts for a vote from a lawmaker, which constitutes bribery, a criminal offense.
"An entire lobbying industry has developed in which some lobbying firms pursue nothing but special project earmarks for their clients from lawmakers in charge of those appropriations," Holman said. "In some very obvious cases, such as Cunningham, it has become clear that such bribes-for-earmarks have been occurring."
This is likely why the Justice Department is looking into Lewis, Holman said.
Clients Subpoenaed
Some Inland public officials said Copeland, Lowery & Jacquez has been helpful in securing money for law enforcement, youth recreation and neighborhood revitalization and other projects.
Riverside County Supervisor Bob Buster said he thinks the subpoena his county received is a "general fishing trip."
County Executive Officer Larry Parrish said he believes most of the company's lobbying was related to the Department of Interior and securing funding for the Riverside County Integrated Project, a sweeping plan for growth management.
Redlands City Manager John Davidson confirmed that his city was served with a subpoena requesting all documents related to the city's relationship with the lobbying firm and with Lewis.
San Bernardino City Attorney Jim Penman declined to comment when asked about a subpoena.
Riverside's Assistant City Manager Tom DeSantis said he was not aware of the city receiving a subpoena.
The firm has delivered federal dollars for rail crossings and other projects in Riverside, DeSantis said, but he could not say how much money.
Phil Rizzo, executive director of the March Joint Powers Authority, said Friday that his organization has not been subpoenaed.
Lobbyists with the firm helped secure millions of dollars in Federal Aviation Administration grants for upgrades to the March Inland Port airport.
The airport, which is operated by the March Joint Powers Authority, received more than $5 million in FAA airport improvement grants from around 1999 to 2002. But since then, FAA officials have determined the airport is ineligible to receive federal grants because it's not open to general aviation.
At least one educational institution has been subpoenaed:
The Cal State San Bernardino Foundation, a client of the firm since August 1999, received a federal subpoena on May 23, university counsel Carrie Hemphill said Friday. She said the school is honoring a request from the U.S. attorney's office not to disclose specifics in the document.
She said it is impossible to say how much money the firm has helped the school to obtain.
At the University of Redlands, Ron Stephany, the vice president of university relations, said it would not be proper to disclose whether the school had received a subpoena.
Stephany said the school relies on the lobbying firm to help find funding for high-profile projects, including research on the Salton Sea and desert tortoise habitat in the High Desert.
In November, the university dedicated the Lewis Hall for Environmental Studies. The building is named for Lewis, who has secured more than $21 million for the school.
Karen Hurlbut, a spokeswoman for ESRI, a Redlands-based mapping firm, would neither confirm nor deny whether the company has been subpoenaed. She also declined to discuss the company's relationship with the lobbying firm.
Loma Linda University Medical Center, a past client of Copeland, Lowery & Jacquez, could not confirm whether it has received a subpoena, said W. Augustus Cheatham, vice president for public affairs.
Earmarks
Lewis has been unapologetic about funneling funds to local projects, but some in his own party have criticized the lawmaker for being too generous.
Jon Fleischman, a former executive director of the California Republican Party, said even though Lewis campaigns on limited government, he presides over massive increases in spending as chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
"Some people may see him as a hero," Fleischman said. "I see him as ... endangering our Republican majority."
Fleischman said he is not accusing Lewis of being unethical.
Former San Bernardino City Administrator Shauna Clark called Lewis "the best congressman San Bernardino ever had" for his willingness to cooperate with other legislators, often Democrats, to find funding for local projects such as a 1997 earmark for home-renovation subsidies in low-income areas.
Clark said Lewis also procured urgently needed funds to remove damaged and dead trees from the San Bernardino Mountains after the 2003 forest fires.
When I lived in Riverside...the Press was about as leftist as they come.
Has anything changed?
Do they still love him in France?
Hard to say, they may have drifted a bit back to the center since then. how long ago was that when you lived there?
I think the only way to clean this up is to ban lobbyists. Obviously, it is now shady for a congressman to have ties to a lobbyist so the answer should be to ban lobbyists. Lock our congressmen in soundproof booths and let them out only to vote on the floor so there's no possible way they can have contact with lobbyists who might hand them money or want a favor.
If somebody has a better idea, I'm open to hearing it.
"Lobbyists with the firm helped secure millions of dollars in Federal Aviation Administration grants for upgrades to the March Inland Port airport."
They should have to refund every dime/interest since it was stolen from the avaition trust fund from avaition fuel taxes for PUBLIC airport improvements.
It's a military airfield and any improvements should come from the DOD budget.
As far as i'm concerned any lawmaker that "brings home the bacon" is a dispicable puke and should be turned out of office.
Culture of corruption. Oh wait, he's a Democrat. WITCH HUNT! WITCH HUNT!
Jerry Lewis, the king of secret earmarks.
"Don't be a schlep. If the two million is on the table when I awake from my nap, I know I have a partner, Michael. If not..."
Lewis is a Pubbie, who chairs the appropriations committee.
Good questions.
A thorough review is in order .. then let's review the dems as well and as thoroughly.
Election year hysterics, probably? we'll have to wait 'til next year to find out for sure. ;-)
---
an AP update
Report: More subpoenas in Rep. Jerry Lewis case
http://www.bakersfield.com/119/story/55138.html
The Associated Press | Saturday, Jun 3 2006 4:15 PM
Last Updated: Saturday, Jun 3 2006 4:15 PM
Riverside County and the Cal State Bernardino Foundation have been subpoenaed in the federal investigation into the ties between Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, and a Washington, D.C., lobbyist, it was reported Saturday.
That's in addition to subpoenas of San Bernardino County and Redlands, Calif., that were confirmed earlier this week. The subpoenas are asking for records of contacts between the recipients and Lewis and Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton, & White, which employs former Rep. Bill Lowery, R-Calif.
Lowery is a close friend of Lewis' whose firm's clients include a number of municipalities, businesses and agencies in or around Lewis' inland Southern California district. Some aides to Lewis at the House Appropriations Committee, which he chairs, have also gone to work at the firm, which helps clients get federal dollars "earmarked" for projects.
The U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles is investigating. Spokesman Thom Mrozek did not immediately return a call for comment Saturday.
The subpoenas to Riverside County and the Cal State Bernardino Foundation were reported Saturday by The Press-Enterprise of Riverside.
Lewis' spokesman didn't immediately return a call for comment. In a statement Friday Lewis denied wrongdoing and defended obtaining earmarks for his district.
"I encourage a thorough review of any project I have helped secure for my constituents," the statement said. "Throughout my career, I have also made every effort to meet the highest ethical standards, and I am absolutely certain that any review of my work will confirm this."
FMCDH(BITS)
Well now Lewis is my congreeman and I live in Redlands. Let's see what happens. I just want the ba$tids to fix the streets.
1997-8
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