USA Today on Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Ca) protecting a $160 million Navy contract for a firm whose investors contributed $110,000 to him at a fundraiser he attended the day before:

On July 7, Lewis traveled to New York for a fundraising dinner with Cerberus executives and their spouses, lawyers and business associates. They gave the Future Leaders PAC more than $110,000 that night and more in the following weeks, bringing the total to nearly $133,000 that month. [...]

The day after the [fundraising] dinner, the House passed Lewis' defense spending bill that preserved all of the funding for the Navy project. And two months after receiving the Cerberus money, Lewis led House negotiators working out a House-Senate compromise on the Pentagon bill that finalized the $1.6 billion for the Navy project.

There are signs as well that Lewis, now chair of the House appropriations committee, could be a subject of inquiry in the Duke Cunningham probe as well. More here and here.

Posted by Laura at January 19, 2006 12:35 AM