In Praising Speaker Pelosi, Dick Morris cites an example of the kinds of controversies she will encounter:
Pelosi now faces the challenge of whether to let West Virginia Democratic Congressman Alan Mollohan head the Appropriations subcommittee, which oversees the FBI, an organization which plans to spend part of the money Mollohan lets them have investigating Mollohan! Formerly the ranking Democrat on the House ethics committee — until his scandals forced him to step down — Mollohan has increased his assets from less than $500,000 in 2000 to more than $6.3 million in 2004. His investments, which generated less than $80,000 in 2000, reaped between $200,000 and $1.2 million in 2004.
How did he do it? He got federal funding earmarked for certain companies that his friends either owned or worked for, then got his buddies to pick up half the tab for joint real estate investments with him and his family. For example, he got FMW Composite Systems $4.4 million in earmarks and then teamed up with its CEO to buy a $900,000 farm, which the Mollohans and FMW’s chief split 50-50. The congressman told The New York Times that the thought that the deal might represent a conflict of interest “did not occur to me� when he — literally — bought the farm.
Now, under FBI investigation, can he really be trusted to head the subcommittee that controls the Bureau’s funding?
Let’s keep an eye on this and keep up the pressure to aim for the highest possible level of integrity in our Congress.
Born 1950, Married, Living in Austin Texas, Semi
Retired Small Business owner and investor. My political interest
evolved out of his business experience that the best decisions come out of an objective gathering of information and a pragmatic consideration of costs and benefits. I am interested in promoting Centrist candidates and Policies. My posts are mostly about people and policies that I believe are part of the solution rather the problem.