More Buck McKeon articles coming?

[Local Democrat]

WOW - he made the big time with an article about lobbying, his wife & $$$$$

http://www.salon.com/2012/01/30/d_c_lobbyist_aids_rep_mckeons_wife/

LD

[Local Democrat]

excerpt from the Salon article:

Patricia McKeon, Buck’s wife, surprised many when she announced her intention last September to run for an open seat that largely overlaps her husband’s district. One of the first reported contributions to her campaign came from a political committee called the Fund for American Opportunity, registered to a post office box in Washington, D.C., that donated $1,000. The fund, which is financed by a number of corporations including the drug industry trade association PhRMA, is owned and operated by Mark Valente, a Beltway lobbyist.

The contribution, reported here for the first time, appears to be an effort to circumvent federal campaign limits. Federal campaign disclosures show that Valente has already maxed out in donations to Rep. McKeon this cycle, having given $2,500 to his campaign for Congress. And the contribution came within a day of Valente’s donation to Patricia’s campaign for the California Assembly.

Valente’s lobbying firm, Valente and Associates, reported over $1.4 million in fees last year. The firm represented at least one company, 3Leaf Group, a government contractor specializing in human resources, that sought help from Valente on issues relating to the Defense Authorization bill. McKeon, as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, was the principal author of that legislation.

Valente did not respond to a request for comment. But his so-called 527 campaign entity, the Fund for American Opportunity, gave only one contribution to a state politician in all of 2011: Patricia McKeon.

Craig Holman, a lobbying expert with Public Citizen, says that the donation to McKeon is part of a larger pattern of influence peddling in Washington: “The objective is to throw as much money as possible at the feet of the lawmaker; that includes at the feet of his family as well.”

It’s not the first time McKeon has raised eyebrows by using his elected office to boost his wife. For the last 10 years, Buck McKeon made Patricia McKeon his highest-paid campaign staffer, an arrangement that ethics experts have criticized as an invitation for corruption. In 2007, a report exposed the fact that Patricia McKeon was by far the highest-compensated family member of the few members of Congress employing relatives for their campaigns.

A review of campaign documents by Salon found that, counting reimbursements for food and travel, the McKeon campaign committee has paid Patricia over $547,584 since 2001.

[Local Democrat]

You can also check out this article on our own KHTS:

http://www.hometownstation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27955%3Adc-lobbyist-accused-of-buying-influence-with-buck-mckeon-by-funding-wife-patricias-assembly-bid&catid=26%3Alocal-news&Itemid=97

D.C Lobbyist Accused Of Buying Influence With Buck McKeon By Funding Wife Patricia’s Assembly Bid

[Local Democrat]

Here's Patricia McKeon's filing with Calif. Sec. of State - notice all the monies from Boeing, Raytheon, General Atomics, Buck McKeon for Congress, etc.

http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1341424&session=2011&view=received

[Local Democrat]

http://hoh.rollcall.com/covering-the-bases-buck-mckeon-countrywide/

McKeon update (excerpt):

When House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) became ensnared by the Countrywide mortgage scandal last month, his senior staff came together for a strategy session to decide how to throw colleagues, potential challengers and former employees under the bus.

McKeon is one of four Members referred to the House Ethics Committee to discern whether Countrywide provided preferential treatment to influential lawmakers through an exclusive loan program.

McKeon’s communications director drafted a memo — “a recap of current strategy call” — and addressed it to Chief of Staff Bob Cochran, Deputy Chief of Staff Bob Haueter and political consultant Tony Marsh.

The memo included a reference to a California state Assembly race that pits a former McKeon staffer, Scott Wilk, against McKeon’s wife, Patricia. Wilk previously worked as McKeon’s press secretary and later his district director.

According to the memo, McKeon’s strategy should include “thorough background checks into the relationships between Wilk, [Wilk’s political consultant, Jason Cable] Roe, and their recent shady political connections.”


LD

[Alpiner]

Ironically, would we be better off with a Democrat instead of Buck? Nope.

[CC]

Huh?  Better a corrupt Republican than ANY Democrat?  Way to go Alpiner, you have just demonstrated why this country is completely messed up.

[Phil Ellis]

CC, you are correct.  It is a sad state of affairs when we are better off with a corrupt Republican than any Democrat.  Doesn't say much for the Democrats does it? 

[deano]

Huh?  Better a corrupt Republican than ANY Democrat?  Way to go Alpiner, you have just demonstrated why this country is completely messed up.

Says the person who still supports Obama for president.....talk about blind ideology and what's messing up the country!

[Capt. Gene]

The really funny part is that CC still calls herself a republican! Yeah, I know; "I'm a registered republican!", uh huh, so was Arnold.