Corruption in Congress: Indiana Rep. Pete Visclosky

March 2, 12:18 PM ·

Rep. Pete Visclosky

Indiana Democrat Rep. Pete Visclosky is among a number of members of Congress who are being accused of having ties to a defense lobbying firm under federal investigation. The PMA group, one of the biggest lobbying firms in Washington, which specialize in securing defense earmarks for it clients. It steered donations to lawmakers through sham donors.

Visclosky's former congressional chief of staff worked as a lobbyist for the firm. According to the Federal Election Commission, he received around $100,000 from donors tied to PMA between 2006 and 2008. Among donors listed were some members of PMA's board of directors. The group was the largest donor to the Representatives 2008 reelection campaign. The result was that Visclosky reciprocated, helping to secure $23 million in earmarks for clients of PMA.

For further reading:

Political corruption acceptable in the U.S.
Congressional Pork and Pay-to-Play goes round and round
Pork and political corruption go hand-in-hand