NEOAVATARA

It doesn’t appear that the Democrats are going to take long to match the Republicans for corruption after taking over Washington.

Now there is Paul Magliocchetti, who appears to be the Democrats version of lobbyist Jack Abramhoff.  He was one of the largest supporters of Democrats for the past decade.  Now, however, Mr. Magliocchetti’s generosity is coming to an abrupt halt: his firm, the PMA Group, is closing its doors, after reports that federal prosecutors had recently raided his office and his home.

Former PMA staff members familiar with the inquiry say prosecutors’ initial questions have focused on the possibility that Mr. Magliocchetti used straw campaign contributors — a Florida sommelier and a golf club executive, for example, appear to have given large sums in coordination with PMA — as a front to funnel illegal donations to friendlylawmakers, a felony that could carry a minimum sentence of five years.

Magliocchetti has close connections with many Democrats, but none more so than Jack Murtha.  His relationship and campaigning for Murtha goes as far back as the late 1980s.  Murtha’s involvement in questionable campaign contributions has a long track record, this just being the latest.

Of course, I am sure that you have heard little if nothing about this.  The New York Times reported this back at the end of March is a page 10 story.  No TV networks appear to have talked about it at all.

Then comes the news story on Monday from CQPolitics.com.

Rep. Jane Harman , the California Democrat with a longtime involvement in intelligence issues, was overheard on an NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby the Justice Department to reduce espionage-related charges against two officials of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, the most powerful pro-Israel organization in Washington.

Harman was recorded saying she would “waddle into” the AIPAC case “if you think it’ll make a difference,” according to two former senior national security officials familiar with the NSA transcript.

In exchange for Harman’s help, the sources said, the suspected Israeli agent pledged to help lobby Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., then-House minority leader, to appoint Harman chair of the Intelligence Committee after the 2006 elections, which the Democrats were heavily favored to win.

These allegations are not really new.  Harman’s association with AIPAC and other Israeli lobbies goes back years.  Similar allegations for pay-for-play were made in 2006.  Reportedly then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales investigated, but had insufficient proof of any crime.  Harman is now attacking the intelligence from the NSA, calling it an abuse of power.  Kind of hard to make that accusations, since apparently Nancy Pelosi was briefed on the wiretapping as far back as 2006.

Whether there is any truth to the latter claim, I don’t have any idea.  Whether there is now wiretapping evidence to suggest crimes, that would be new information.

Dianne Feinstein, not to be out done, apparently provided $25 billion in taxpayer money to a government agency that had just awarded her husband’s real estate firm a lucrative contract to sell foreclosed properties at compensation rates higher than the industry norms.  Of course, spokesmen for the FDIC, Mrs. Feinstein and Feinstein’s husband Richard Blum’s firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) told The Times that there was no connection between the legislation and the contract signed Nov. 13, and that the couple didn’t even know about CBRE’s business with FDIC until after it was awarded.  But that doesn’t matter; Senate ethics rules forbid even the appearance of ethics violations.  A memo from CBRE responding to the allegations can be read here.

This comes at the same time that the always expected corruption in the bailouts and TARP funds becomes more apparent.  Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, released a 250-page report detailing a long list of concerns about government efforts to prop up hundreds of banks, Wall Street firms and auto companies.  Barofsky has opened 20 criminal investigations and six audits into whether tax dollars are being pilfered or wasted.

Nothing to surprising.  Corruption never goes away, just takes on a different face.  But the Democrats, I guess, are picking up after the Republican corruption of the last few years quite quickly.  Bravo.