At the time, Reen did some digging and discovered that Buxbaum's company EEI has been granted a number of large government contracts. The largest in EEI's references is valued with a ceiling of $15 billion. Here is the SBA Firm Profile. Several of the contracts are with the Navy.
Once it was determined that Buxbaum had lied, there was little purpose in beating a dead horse, and we set that matter aside. It's easy enough to conjecture that as a government contractor Buxbaum was pressured into lying. But I don't know of any evidence to support such an idea, except that it "makes sense," so it hardly seems worth pursuing.
That's not the kind of pressure that one would expect to be well documented. But what's more important is that pressure of that nature may be part of a larger pattern, one in which the American public is the biggest loser of all. Another apparently unrelated incident was reported on Friday that indicates that pressure on government contractors may not be such an uncommon method of doing business, especially in a high stakes political race. In this instance the contractors were allegedly threatened.
First Some Background
Noted in a recent diary, was the fact that one of the House Appropriations Committee members listed as being embroiled in scandal was Curt Weldon. He is the one whose daughter and the daughter's long-term friend who was a campaign manager for Weldon (shew) had their house searched by the FBI.
So Weldon is already in hot water, and his seat is considered to be imperiled. Now the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has requested that yet another Department of Justice investigation take place. Go here for the doucments and pdf files of the emails
My bold:
CREW Sends DOJ Letter on Obtained Emails Detailing Retaliation Against Those Who Contributed to OpponentWashington, DC GÇô Earlier today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) violated the law by threatening those who made contributions to his political opponent Joe Sestak with retribution.
CREW received two emails describing Rep. WeldonGÇÖs efforts. The first, sent to Mr. Sestak on June 29, 2006, described a GÇ£hit listGÇ¥ compiled by someone on Rep. WeldonGÇÖs staff identifying people in the national security field who had made contributions to Mr. Sestak. The email indicates that a retired Navy flag officer reported that Rep. Weldon said something to the effect of GÇ£If they donGÇÖt think there will be retribution before or after the election, theyGÇÖre kidding themselves.GÇ¥ A second email, sent on July 21, 2006 states that Rep. Weldon had his staff contact Navy personnel to get information on Mr. Sestak.
18 U.S.C. -º 600 makes it illegal to promise any contract or any special consideration as a reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate. Any person who violates this section may be sentenced to up to one year imprisonment.18 U.S.C. -º 610 makes it unlawful to intimidate, threaten, command, or coerce any employee of the federal government to engage in, or not to engage in, any political activity. Violators
are subject to up to three years imprisonment.
CREW has posted those emails on its blog at http://blog.citizens...
These events raise troubling questions about the potential for bullying or even blackmailing contractors who have responsibilities to their families and to their employees. Whistle blowing is hardly a realistic alternative in a thoroughly corrupt environment.
How can we ensure that contracts for vital services are awarded based upon factors such as fairness and merit, rather than as currency in the exchange of favors? And how can we make sure that we have the absolute best when it comes to national defense and safety at home?
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One more interesting tidbit on Weldon. Recall Allen-Cheney fundraiser hosted by Regnery Publisher, publisher of racist tracts. Well they are publishers of a bizarre book by Weldon. Laura Rozen gives some background From her story here's what Bill Murray, ex-CIA says about it all
WhatGÇÖs far more important, says Murray, is that WeldonGÇÖs freelance 007 crusade to be his own spymaster has ultimately done a disservice to the American people and to national security.GÇ£Most of us [CIA officers] have been consumed with preventing real terrorist threats to the U.S. for the past four years,GÇ¥ he said with a fierce squint. GÇ£And virtually everything Ghorbanifar and his people come up with diverts us. I have hard-working people working for me, and they donGÇÖt have time for this bullshit.GÇ¥
You tell it, Bill!