House GOP Leadership Is Disgustingly Corrupt

This story from the San Diego Union Tribune spells out just how widespread the corruption within the GOP in Washington really is.

The GOP leadership is about enriching their friends, not looking out for the interests of average Americans.  They have totally lost the ability to distinguish between the public interest and the interests of their campaign contributors.

We knew that defense contractor Brent Wilkes had ties to former Rep. Duke Cunningham and now it is clear that he was also cultivating DeLay, Blunt and Hastert to do favors for him as well.

This story suggests that Hastert may have taken numerous undisclosed trips on Wilkes plane.  We know DeLay flew frequently, and Majority Leader Roy Blunt (R-K Street) reported flying on Wilkes' plane as well.  Blunt also took campaign contributions from Wilkes.  Blunt has made clear he has no intention of returning these tainted funds.

And once again, the Alexander Strategy Group rears its ugly head. 

Over the past three years, Wilkes' lobbying group in Washington – Group W Advisors – also paid about $630,000 in lobbying fees to Alexander Strategy Group, a firm headed by DeLay's former chief of staff Ed Buckham and staffed with former DeLay employees.

In 2000, DeLay's ARMPAC contributed $150,000 to Blunt's ROYB Fund, which then paid $150,000 in fees to ASG.

It is now widely known that ASG employed Christine DeLay, and the feds are looking into whether ASG was actually a conduit to funnel money back to DeLay.

I sure hope the feds are looking at the Wilkes matter too.