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By MajorityAP Posted in Congress | West Virginia | WV-01 — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Constituents desert 13-term Democrat Congressman

While West Virginians appear reluctant to part with dollars to support their embattled Congressman, U.S. Representative Alan Mollohan, lobbyists and federal contractors are more than willing to pick up the slack, a review of Federal Elections Commission (FEC) records by the Majority Accountability Project (www.majorityap.com) has shown.

In what may be unprecedented in Congressional fundraising history, Mollohan did not report a single contribution from the Mountain State for the three-month period ending June 30, 2007. During that same time - between April 1 and June 30, 2007 - federal lobbyists gave Mollohan more than $40,340.00.

Since the beginning of 2007, federal lobbyists and lobby firms contributed at least $67,143 to the 13-term West Virginia Democrat. Contractors and others receiving federal money added an additional $82,800 to Mollohan’s re-election committee.

Read on . . .

At least part of Mollohan’s fundraising success can be traced to $14 million in federal earmarks he recently secured.

Research conducted by Earmark Watch, a project sponsored by the Sunlight Foundation and Taxpayers for Common Sense, found that Mollohan garnered six earmarks totaling $14 million in a House-passed defense spending bill. Every one of those earmarks earned Mollohan a campaign contribution.

According to Mollohan’s latest FEC filings, lobbyists and firms associated with those half-dozen projects contributed a total of $37,250 to his campaign treasury.

The contributions came from executives of companies such as EWA Inc., for whom Mollohan garnered $5,000,000; Azimuth, which is slated to receive $2,000,000; and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), whose political action committee (PAC) donated $5,000. Mollohan earmarked $3,000,000 in federal funds to two projects for SAIC.

Lobbyists representing those firms also contributed to Mollohan’s re-election account, including two lobbyists from Robison International. According to federal lobby records, Robison represents Azimuth, SAIC, and another firm, Greenpak, for whom Mollohan garnered $4,000,000. Mollohan also received $2,000 from the PAC of Paul Magliocchetti Associates (PMA), which represents EWA.

Magliocchetti is a former top aide to scandal-scarred U.S. Representative Jack Murtha, D-PA.

In many cases, including that of PMA, Mollohan failed to log a running total of contributions received throughout the year, a violation of FEC regulations. Mollohan’s October filing reported $1,000 from PMA and $2,000 from Randall West of Robison International. Both had contributed to Mollohan earlier in the year, but Mollohan did not record those earlier contributions in his October report.

The FEC requires that “if a person has already contributed an aggregate amount of over $200 during one year, each subsequent contribution, regardless of amount, must be identified in the same way.”

No matter where the money is coming from, records show Mollohan needs the cash. Since November 26, 2006, he has paid the firm Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans and Figel nearly $220,000 in legal fees. The most recent payment, for $55,000, was reported in Mollohan’s October report to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).

The firm specializes in “white collar criminal defense.” Mollohan is reportedly under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for steering millions of dollars in federal earmarks to campaign donors.

And some of those players have returned to help Mollohan through his current legal troubles.

For this story and more, visit the Majority Accountability Project at www.majorityap.com