[theknife]

Originally Posted by Drakonix

Entry #4: "Malicious or defamatory gossip" is the best fit in this case.

If we want to talk about sexual indiscretions while in public office, we can always talk about similar acts by Democrats (like William Jefferson Clinton).

actually, the scandal reference by the NY Post source above is not about sexual indiscretions per se - the context here is bribery and bid-rigging. the hookers and poker parties just add a little color to an otherwise dreary GOP ethics mutation watch Dusty Foggo, the #3 man in the CIA, resign within the week:

San Diego bribe case prompts more federal investigations
New probe focuses on CIA, Homeland Security corruption

Sunday, May 7, 2006

Washington -- A federal investigation into one congressman's bribe-taking last year has spawned a second round of inquiries and investigations into actions of officials at the CIA and the Homeland Security Department and of members of the House Intelligence Committee, government officials said.

These new inquiries reach beyond Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the former Republican House member from Del Mar (San Diego County) who was sentenced in March to more than eight years in prison for taking $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. They suggest a growing suspicion among some lawmakers that corrupt practices may have influenced decision-making in Congress and at executive agencies.

Last month, the San Diego Union Tribune and the Wall Street Journal reported that federal investigators were looking into whether the defense contractors involved in Cunningham's bribery had also arranged limousines, poker parties and prostitutes for him at the Watergate and Westin Grand hotels in Washington.

Law enforcement officials have confirmed these reports, and a manager at the Watergate has said the hotel was subpoenaed by federal officials seeking documents related to the poker parties. Calls to Cunningham's lawyer, K. Lee Blalack II, seeking comment were not returned.

The investigation has led to further official inquiries into who arranged and attended the poker parties and their connections to the defense contractors who played roles in Cunningham's bribery.

The inspector general of the CIA, according to the agency, is now conducting an inquiry into Kyle Foggo, the agency's executive director, who said this week that he had attended some poker parties over the years.

Foggo, the CIA's third-ranking official, is a longtime friend of Brent Wilkes, one of the defense contractors whose role is described in the indictment against Cunningham. Wilkes has not been charged, and his lawyer did not return calls on Friday.

In court filings, prosecutors referred to business deals Wilkes made with Mitchell Wade, a defense contractor who pleaded guilty in February to providing more than $1 million in bribes to Cunningham, who has admitted receiving money from both men. Wade's lawyer declined on Friday to discuss his client's role in the investigation.

A CIA spokesman said Saturday that Foggo has said he did not violate agency rules in the awarding of contracts and that the poker games were nothing more than a gathering of friends. Separately on Saturday, an intelligence official who is close to Foggo said that Foggo plans to resign his post at the agency sometime in the next week.

Foggo was promoted to his job at the CIA by Porter Goss, who abruptly resigned on Friday as director of the agency. There has been no suggestion by officials involved in these investigations that Goss did anything wrong or was under investigation.

The investigation into the poker games has also put a spotlight on the limousine company that ferried Cunningham and others to the Watergate and Westin Grand. The company, Shirlington Limousine and Transportation, is operated by Christopher Baker, a man with many criminal convictions, including petty larceny and attempted robbery, and a history of financial troubles. Shirlington Limousine won a contract worth as much as $25.2 million to drive Homeland Security employees and officials around Washington.

Lawyers for Baker did not return calls seeking comment, and a message left with Shirlington Limousine's answering service on Saturday did not bring a response. The company is listed at several addresses in the region, including a post office box in Arlington, Va., and an apartment in a residential building in downtown Washington.

Shirlington provided 12 minibuses five days a week to drive Homeland Security employees among downtown offices, and 10 drivers to ferry department executives around the region in department-owned sedans.

FBI agents have talked to Shirlington employees about driving Cunningham and prostitutes to hotel poker parties, and have interviewed women who work for escort services, said a lawyer involved in the investigation.

On Friday, Republican and Democratic members of the House Committee on Homeland Security said they planned to investigate Shirlington Limousine's contract.

"The information we've obtained raises a number of serious questions, from the contracting process to possible security concerns," said Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House subcommittee in charge of management and oversight at the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS. "The appearance of a lack of background checks on contractors is another troubling personnel issue at DHS that we are examining."

Larry Orluskie, a Homeland Security spokesman, said the department did background checks on all Shirlington drivers before giving them access to its cars and executives. He emphasized that the department did not use Shirlington's limousines and that it has been "absolutely satisfied" with the company since it awarded the contract in April 2004.

In January, the top Republican and top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee announced their own inquiry into whether Cunningham's bribery schemes had influenced the committee's business. The intelligence committee oversees the 16 intelligence agencies and their $44 billion annual budget. The inquiry is being led by Michael Stern, a lawyer and former congressional staff member

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSIN3351.DTL