Mitchell Wade News

Times have been tough on everybody's favorite lobbyist Mitchell Wade. He was forced to plead guilty to bribery, use of interstate facilities to bribe, tax evasion, and conspiring to deprive the Defense Department of the honest services. Wade is testifying against Brent Wilkes as part of his plea bargain deal. Wilkes has political connections with Tom Delay, John Doolittle and Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo. Men whom have been involved in their own scandals.

Wilkes was a defense contractor. He used Duke Cunningham to get projects for ADCS Inc. The Cunningham has already pleaded guilty. Wilkes is fighting his charges. Wade explains the relationship with Wilkes.

Asked several times by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Forge, Wade said he made hundreds of thousands of dollars each year from Wilkes. He said Wilkes got millions in government work.

And asked how that happened, Wade repeatedly gave a two-word answer: “Duke Cunningham.”

Wade told Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Forge how Cunningham hit him up for a $50 thousand bride.

He recounted that at one meeting in October 2001 at a Washington marina, Cunningham asked Wade for $50,000.

“Did you view that request as a burden, or an opportunity?” Forge asked.

“Opportunity,” (Wade) responded. He paid the bribe – routing the money through a New York mortgage company – and soon started getting government work with Cunningham's help. In fact he supplanted Wilkes and, in some cases over the next four years, ADCS was a subcontractor to MZM, he said.

In other news: the Federal Election ruled the Wade must pay a $1 million fine for making illegal campaign contributions. Wade used $78,000 of MZM corporate money to reimburst employees that made campaign contribions to Katherine Harris and Virgil Goode. Campaign donations are limited to $500. Wade attempted to get around the law to win influence.

Harris and Goode are in no legal trouble because of the contributions. They should be consider themselves lucky. Harris's changing stories about dining at Citronelle doesn't pass the laugh test.

John Doolittle's Home Raided by FBI

From Political Wire via Roll Call.

Roll Call is reporting that the FBI "has raided the Northern Virginia home of Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA)... No details are publicly available yet about the circumstances of the raid, but Doolittle and his wife, Julie, have been under federal investigation for their ties to the scandal surrounding imprisoned former lobbyist Jack Abramoff."

Doolittle was a frequent guest of Abramoff's skyboxes at the MCI Center and Camden Yards. He is one of the few Republicans not wise enough to return money he received from Abramoff.

"Mr. Abramoff only contributed $4,000 to the congressman, so returning it wouldn't cause much of a hardship to our campaign, but this is a matter of principle to the congressman," Blackann said. "He has done absolutely nothing wrong and has no intention of returning any contribution from anyone that was made in an ethical and legal manner regardless of how many of his colleagues do so out of political expediency or how much the media tries to irresponsibly distort the propriety of Mr. Doolittle's actions."

I just had food poison a few days ago. That last self-righteous paragraph makes me feel quesy all over again.