Well DUH... Lawmakers Involved in Defense?!?

[Foxy]

Lawmakers heavily invested in defense By ANNE FLAHERTY,
Associated Press Writer



WASHINGTON - Members of Congress have as much as $196 million collectively invested in companies doing business with the Defense Department, earning millions since the onset of the Iraq war, according to a study by a nonpartisan research group.

Not all the companies in which lawmakers invested are typical defense contractors. Corporations such as PepsiCo, IBM, Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson have at one point received defense-related contracts, notes the report by the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics.


*Source*

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080403/ap_on_go_co/congress_defense_investments

[Brian K Beckett]

I saw that. Arent there some form of conflict of intrest restrictions on this???

[Foxy]

An intelligent and fair person would think so... oh wait we were talking about politicians weren't we??? Never mind

[SilverFox]

One of the most egregious offenders in Diane Feinstein, Senator from CA, who, while serving of the Defense Comm. managed to funnel billions of dollars in defense contracts to her hubby's companies. When this finally came to light she just resigned from the committee. She should have been prosecuted. This was a clear ethical violation as well as possibly criminal. It is one thing to be invested in companies, clearly another to actually own the company.

[Foxy]

It seems to me that there is a problem with the prosecutors office there!

[tkcomer]

You don't have to go to California to find corruption. Our very own Mitch McConnell got into trouble for earmarking 25 million to a corrupt British defense contractor that had a facility in Kentucky. Oh, and Mitch got $53,000 in campaign donations from them for his trouble. War and "low intensity conflicts" causes insane profits for a lot companies and people. Guess what party has started just about all of them since Korea?