Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein is the latest congressional Dem to face substantial questions about her ethics. Feinstein served as the top Democrat on the Senate Subcommittee on Military Construction Appropriations, even though her husband owns two defense contracting firms that have been awarded large contracts through the defense appropriations process. Feinstein resigned from the committee after liberal watchdog organizations and media raised questions about the apparent conflict of interest.
The conflict does not appear to be merely theoretical. According to this report, in March 2003, Feinstein asked why funds for anti-terror protection had not been spent. A month later, her husband's firm announced a $600 million contract to provide services for U.S. Army bases that included anti-terrorism force protection. In another instance, Feinstein asked a military official when money would be spent on a maintenance facility for the C-17 Hickam Air Base in Hawaii. Her husband's company later announced a $42 million contract to build it. And in mid-2005, Feinstein's subcommittee approved funds to reinforce roofs at military stations in Iraq; a few months later, her husband reportedly got a $185 million federal contract for that purpose. All of this prompted Melanie Sloan of the liberal watchdog group Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington to say "because of the amount of money involved, Feinstein's conflict of interest is an order of magnitude greater than [usual] conflicts."
This would seem to be just the kind of issue an independent congressional watchdog should look into. Indeed, Barack Obama has been pushing for the establishment of such a watchdog. Guess who has opposed this. Yup, Diane Feinstein.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. The Pentagon is not part of Congress, its part of the executive branch run by Bush. The blog itself offers only evidence that Feinstein raised valid issues about security, and that her husband's company won contracts. Since I don't know from the blog if the Bush commanded Pentagon awarded these on a no bid or bid basis, there is no way without more information to make ANY judgment as to impropriety.
Phil at 5:46PM on Apr 3rd 2007
2. This Blog is going to be a lot of fun, to see how the "Neo-Libs" will somehow blame this scandal on Bush. Maybe, at the time George Bush was Diane Feinstein’s husband and thus George Bush's company was the recipient of $600000000 in no-bid contracts.
Bob Rogan at 6:32PM on Apr 3rd 2007
3. I listen to the news daily and never heard this re:Feinstein .Why did the media not work a little harder to inform the public?
trish carns at 7:59PM on Apr 3rd 2007
4. It didn't take long for the liberals out there in "Libby" land to turn this whole thing around andblameit on the President. I am living for the day that the liberal democrats, including the majority speaker take responsibilty for their actions against our troops.
John at 10:05PM on Apr 3rd 2007
5. This is no story. She's a Democrat. Haven't you figured this out yet?
william wilson at 11:04PM on Apr 3rd 2007
6. "The Pentagon is not part of Congress, its part of the executive branch run by Bush."
nice try, but appropriations are the responsibility of Congress, as the current conflict underscores.
While we are on the subject of no-bid contracts, Feinstein herself has been a vocal opponent of no-bid contracts despite watching her husband's firms profit from more than a few no-bid contracts.
BTW, Blum also owns the company that provides luggage carts in airports... I carry my own bags rather than put $2 in his pocket.
jeff at 11:14PM on Apr 3rd 2007
7. Democratic Men Stand on Your Feet! Stop being led about by Hysterical Females and get back to work. Let us please hear a voice of reason here.
prossers7 at 10:41AM on Apr 4th 2007
8. You're a known liar and a worthless partisan. You posses no reporting infrastructure and make things up out of thin air. That anyone would believe a single thing you've written is one of saddest most pathetic things about fake news blogs like yours.
bill at 3:13PM on Apr 4th 2007
9. We're feelin' the love, bill. While we're at it, we'd like to feel the factual basis for your ad hominem too. Care to do that?
IMMensaMind at 3:40PM on Apr 4th 2007
10.
That appears to be a serious conflict of interest, but it's a little early to imply wrongdoing.
Thank you for at least noting that it was a liberal watchdog group who brought up the issue. At least there are some people out there who won't tolerate corruption or conflicts of interest in their own party either (*cough* Tom Delay anyone?).
Peter at 3:59PM on Apr 4th 2007
11.
That appears to be a serious conflict of interest, but it's a little early to imply wrongdoing.
Thank you for at least noting that it was a liberal watchdog group who brought up the issue. At least there are some people out there who won't tolerate corruption or conflicts of interest in their own party either (*cough* Tom Delay anyone?).
Peter at 3:59PM on Apr 4th 2007
12. i love being lectured on ethics by a bunch of non-enlisting bushies all of whome voted for a cocaine addicted awol coward and a dickless little war deferments pussy!
bobo at 4:39PM on Apr 4th 2007
13. Bill
Address the issues Paul raises rather than attack the purveyor of the issues. You imply Paul is lying - give us your proof and spare us the nasty attacks
fejj at 5:32PM on Apr 4th 2007
14. Feinstein has always been a 'machine Democrat' attuned to moneyed interests. There used to be a lot of those in San Francisco politics, and there's still a few, but the city's now run by what's basically a Komsomol Youth League student government.
I wouldn't be surprised if there was a little too much cross-pollination between her activities and those of her plutocrat husband.
That said, I'm absolutely certain that if she were up with Boxer on the ideological-purity scale, the left-media wouldn't have a thing bad to say about her.
JEM at 5:50PM on Apr 4th 2007
15. If in fact Dianne Feinstein is guilty of guiding those contracts to her husbands firm, she should pay the consequences ,if there are any. The law is the law, for Republicans as well as Democrats. If they break it they should be made to pay----period.
Joe DeMarco
Democrat
Joe DeMarco at 4:21PM on May 21st 2007