So can someone fill me in on the Mollohan controversy?

[theHandpuppet]

Saw this posted on LBN and really don't know much about Mollohan (don't live in the 1st congressional). Anyone care to fill me in?

NYT: Special Projects by Congressman (Mollohan, D., WV) Draw Complaints
Special Projects by Congressman Draw Complaints
By JODI RUDOREN
Published: April 8, 2006

As lawmakers have increasingly slipped pet projects into federal spending bills over the past decade, one lawmaker has used his powerful perch on the House Appropriations Committee to funnel $250 million into five nonprofit organizations that he set up.

Those actions have prompted a complaint to federal prosecutors that questions whether any of that taxpayer money helped fuel a parallel growth in his personal fortune.

The most ambitious effort by the congressman, Alan B. Mollohan, is a glistening glass-and-steel structure with a swimming pool, sauna and spa rising in a former cow pasture in Fairmont, W.Va., thanks to $103 million of taxpayer money he garnered through special spending allocations known as earmarks....

***

The conservative National Legal and Policy Center in Falls Church, Va., filed a 500-page complaint with the United States attorney for the District of Columbia on Feb. 28 challenging the accuracy of Mr. Mollohan's financial disclosure forms. The forms show a sharp spike in assets and income from rental properties from 2000 to 2004.

Federal authorities said yesterday that they were reviewing the complaint, which was reported in The Wall Street Journal. The case has led several Republican leaders to call for Mr. Mollohan's removal from the House ethics committee, where he is the senior Democrat....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/08/washington/08earmarks...

[Gatchaman]

1. It's because it's in West Virginia

notice the "cow pasture" language? Ted Stevens demands twice this much for a single, even more useless project, and the National Legal and Policy Center won't say a fucking word.

[Moonshine Mike]

2. I live near the pork

mollohan has been enriching himself at the expense of his constituents is the claim. Now, the bad thing is that he has been too entwined with laura kuhn from the vandalia foundation, who he funnels tax dollars to. They in turn spend it on development projects, and are profiting. But buying real estate together? bad news congressman. that should be a no-no.

The group with the complaint is highly partisian, but the logic behind it is not.

[Moonshine Mike]

3. he stepped down

as you know, Mollohan stepped down from the ethic commission. we'll see how it affects him in the upcoming race. I believe the republicans will start pouring money into his district.

If he is dirty, Rahall is not far behind.

[newyawker99]

6. Hi Moonshine Mike!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Lasher]

4. Sinking in the Cheat River

West Virginia Representative Alan Mollohan stepped down last week as the lead Democrat on the House Ethics Committee after allegations of improper financial conduct gained increasing coverage in the press and prompted attacks from the NRCC. Today, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Mollohan shares the ownership of a 300 acre farm-- conveniently located near West Virginia's Cheat River--with a close family friend who just happens to be a government contractor. Some--but not all--of those contracts were backed by Mollohan or non-profits Mollohan funds through pork spending.

Mollohan's first response to these charges was to call them partisan attacks spread by political opponents. He may be right, but sometimes partisan attacks have merit. And the evidence of a conflict of interest, at the very least, seems cut and dry. The Democrat's ethics committee leader ought to have known better than to buy an estate with a government contractor.

...

If Democrats want to take back the House in 2006, they must make clear that Republicans are the party of corrupt government. Whatever Mollohan's sins may be, they would still pale next to the blatant web of bribery schemes created by Jack Abramoff and Duke Cunningham, not to mention the pay-to-play ethos of the entire House GOP leadership. But Democrats must also show that their party won't tolerate a whiff of ethical impropriety--even from their own.

http://www.tnr.com/blog/theplank?pid=14840

Sharing ownership of a farm with a government contractor! Thanks a lot, Mollohan. This is taking at least some of the wind out of our sails concerning the GOP Culture of Corruption. If he's found guilty I want him to do hard time and lots of it.

Mollohan initially got the National Legal and Policy Center's attention because his net worth had dramatically increased. They investigated to see why this was so, and here we are. Part of the increase is due to recently inherited assets.

The NLPC will not release all of their 500 page report, saying parts of it are not finalized. This puts Mollohan in an unfair position. If he answers the charges that have so far been made public, then the NLPC will 'finalize' more charges over and over in an endless string of accusations.

[davidinalameda]

5. in his defense

he and the contractor have been friends for years-I believe they grew up together

but yeah, it doesn't look good

[Moonshine Mike]

7. also family connections...

He owns the farm, but some of that property came from his parent's estate. What I would wonder is if his father owned the farm with the contractor?

Yes, as someone who is up here, it looks too fishy at times. Especially with the land being grabbed by the feds, closing up the local tax base, and yet not giving much back. It's almost like they want to turn tucker county in a theme park.