Is it too early to start calling this one “[tag]hookergate[/tag]”? Just asking.
Following up on yesterday’s revelations about corrupt defense contractors bribing former Rep. Duke Cunningham with prostitutes and use of a nearby “hospitality suite,” the question now turns to who else might have taken advantage of the same “services.” Ken Silverstein at Harper’s new blog has done some digging.
I’ve learned from a well-connected source that those under intense scrutiny by the [tag]FBI[/tag] are current and former lawmakers on Defense and Intelligence committees — including one person who now holds a powerful intelligence post. […]
As to the festivities themselves, I hear that party nights began early with poker games and degenerated into what the source described as a “frat party” scene — real bacchanals. Apparently photographs were taken, and investigators are anxiously procuring copies. My heart beats faster in fevered anticipation.
A former lawmaker from the Intelligence committee who “now holds a powerful intelligence post”? Let’s see, [tag]Porter Goss[/tag] was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and is now the director of the CIA. Yes, he of “Somebody sends me a blue dress and some DNA, I’ll have an investigation” fame.
What’s more, Justin Rood pointed to a Goss-[tag]Wilkes[/tag] connection that’s gone overlooked.
Remember that Goss is the one who plucked one of Wilkes’ old San Diego friends, the unusual and colorful Kyle “Dusty” Foggo, out of CIA middle-management obscurity to be his #3 at the agency. At the time of Foggo’s appointment, no one could figure out where he came from, or how Goss knew him.
In fact, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported today that Foggo, promoted by Goss for still unexplained reasons, is now under investigation by the CIA’s inspector general to determine whether he helped Wilkes gain CIA contracts.
The race is on to see if the Wilkes/Wade/MZM scandal turns out to be as sweeping and devastating as the Abramoff scandal. If Cunningham wasn’t the only lawmaker to use hospitality suites and prostitutes, all bets are off.
Post Script: By the way, it’s worth noting that Wilkes is a Bush pioneer, having raised more than $100,000 for BC04. FYI.