From The Daily Bulletin, 5/10/07:
http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_5859814
Calvert's appointment creates concern
By Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Riverside, was temporarily appointed to the
powerful House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, taking the seat
of Rep. John Doolittle, R-Granite Bay.
Doolittle stepped down after it was disclosed that FBI agents in April
had raided his Virginia home in a probe into his connections to
lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Calvert is expected to serve for the remainder of the congressional
session or until Republican leadership decides otherwise.
But Calvert's appointment to replace a controversial congressman
snarled in the Abramoff scandal is raising eyebrows because Calvert
himself is under close FBI scrutiny.
Calvert, who represents western Riverside County, has caught
investigators' attention because he had been receiving campaign
donations since 1999 from a lobbying firm that has close ties with
Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands.
The FBI had been investigating links between Lewis, a ranking member
of the House Appropriations Committee, and the lobbying firm Copeland,
Lowery, Jacquez, Denton & White.
Neither Lewis nor Calvert has been charged with any wrongdoing.
But that Calvert's name has been linked to these probes and is
temporarily replacing the closely scrutinized Doolittle has some
raising objections.
"Replacing John Doolittle, who's under FBI investigation, with Ken
Calvert, who's under investigation for shady land deals, certainly
doesn't `succeed in restoring trust between the American people and
their elected leaders,"' said Fernando Cuevas, Western regional press
secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
"Republicans need to get serious about ethics and accountability."
Cuevas was referring to a statement by House Minority Leader John
Boehner, R-Ohio, who told CNN, "John (Doolittle) recognizes that if we
are to succeed in restoring trust between the American people and
their elected leaders, this action is necessary."
In addition to the FBI probe, the Riverside County grand jury sought
documents from the Jurupa Community Services District on a land deal
with Calvert's real-estate firm, Calvert Properties.
The district had sold a 3.3-acre parcel to Calvert and his associates
for $1.2million.
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It's endless
Harry
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