Common Cause Blog :: Rep. Jerry Lewis, come on down!

Rep. Jerry Lewis, come on down!

By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Thu Jun 08, 2006 at 02:38:29 PM EST

Representative Jerry Lewis (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, is the latest Congressional name to be pushed into the spotlight for possible ethics violations.

First there was yesterday's report from NBC on allegations of exchanging influence and access for campaign contributions. And there are signs that the whole debacle is going legal - subphoenas have been sent to clients of an involved lobbying firm.

Well, it's getting worse for Lewis. Today's Washington Post reports that Lewis' stepdaughter has received thousands of dollars from a PAC closely tied with a lobbyist.

Lewis's stepdaughter, Julia Willis-Leon of Las Vegas, is listed as director of the Small Biz Tech PAC. She received $44,474 of the approximately $115,000 the committee has collected since it was set up in February 2005, federal election records show.

The lobbyist, Letitia White -- a former longtime Lewis aide -- is the largest donor to Small Biz Tech. She is also part owner of the $1 million Capitol Hill house that initially served as PAC headquarters.

Jerry Lewis' name might not be that well-known by the mainstream public, but his position as head of the Appropriations Committee definitely makes this of great concern. This case and investigation is clearly ongoing, so if you hear of any breaking news, be sure to let us know about it in our Comments section.

Tags: Jerry Lewis, Ethics in Government, lobbying, money in politics (all tags)

Rep. Jerry Lewis, come on down! :: 3 Comments

Washington Post is a partisan newspaper

Why does COMMON CAUSE continue to use an ultra- liberal newspaper as its regular news source on issues relating to Washingtion politics. I thought the whole idea of CC was to be a nonpartisan organization which was set up to hold government accountable. But time after time they quote the The Washington Post. This newspaper has been owned by the Meyer-Graham family since it was purchased in 1933. Before Donald E.Graham took over as CEO of the Washington Post company in 1991, it was run by his mother Katharine Graham a very left-wing Democrat. Donald has continued the same liberal bias. By far the majority of candidates endorsed by The Washington Post are Democrats. If COMMON CAUSE wants to continue to call itself nonpartisan it shouldnt be using an ultra-left newspaper as its source.

by Adan on Thu Jun 08, 2006 at 10:03:29 PM EST

We can't ignore the news

The Washington Post is the biggest newspaper in our area, and its print and online versions often break news stories in advance of other publications. If the Post puts out a story, we can't ignore it just because some feel the newspaper has a reputation for liberalism.

Another aspect of this is that the Washington Post is in a unique position where national news headlines are local news stories too. People in this city see Members of Congress in their local grocery store, so the paper's readership has a higher interest in stories involving this people than readers in other places might. Consequently, the Post, Washington Times, and other local papers have added incentive to report and investigate these stories.

The main point I want to make, however, is that the Washington Post is one of this nation's largest newspapers, and is certainly this area's biggest, so it should be expected that a lot of the news stories we bring you come from that paper. Don't read into it as Common Cause endorsing the Posts endorsements or anything partisan like that - we just want to bring you the news.

by Kirstin Ellison on Fri Jun 09, 2006 at 09:28:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

We can't ignore the news

Kirstin, some of the points you made show a real intelligence of the Washington D.C. scene and I respect your awareness. If you can't ignore news (as you say) how is it that you ignored the scandal in Tennesse, when several Democrats were charged and some convicted of wrongdoings a couple of months ago, that was talked about in the Washington Times newspaper. You only made mention of it on your site after a blogger brought it up, and by that point the investigation had been going on several months. How come we almost never see any articles taken from the Washington Times, since they "see Members of Congress in their local grocery store" also. The Washington Post is quick to point out dishonest Republicans but rarely points out or makes mention of dishonest Democrats, the Washington Times has no problem mentioning dishonest Democrats. You have CNN (a left-leaning news station )listed on your website but but dont have Fox News (a right-leaning news station) listed on your website. It is difficult to call yourselves nonpartisan and at the same time promote CNN while at the same time attacking FOX. Why dont you and the rest of the all-Liberal staff just be honest, and call yourselves partisan, 'cause that is what you are, a pro-Liberal and pro-Democrat organization.

by Adan on Sun Jun 11, 2006 at 07:26:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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Rep. Jerry Lewis, come on down!

By Kirstin EllisonPosted on Thu Jun 08, 2006 at 02:38:29 PM EST

By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Thu Jun 08, 2006 at 02:38:29 PM EST