5.10.07Calvert's appointment creates concern
By Wendy Leung
Staff Writer
Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Riverside, was temporarily appointed to the powerful House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, taking the seat of Rep. John Doolittle, R-Granite Bay.
Doolittle stepped down after it was disclosed that FBI agents in April had raided his Virginia home in a probe into his connections to lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Calvert is expected to serve for the remainder of the congressional session or until Republican leadership decides otherwise.
But Calvert's appointment to replace a controversial congressman snarled in the Abramoff scandal is raising eyebrows because Calvert himself is under close FBI scrutiny.
Calvert, who represents western Riverside County, has caught investigators' attention because he had been receiving campaign donations since 1999 from a lobbying firm that has close ties with Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands.
The FBI had been investigating links between Lewis, a ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, and the lobbying firm Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton & White.
Neither Lewis nor Calvert has been charged with any wrongdoing. But that Calvert's name has been linked to these probes and is temporarily replacing the closely scrutinized Doolittle has some raising objections.
"Replacing John Doolittle, who's under FBI investigation, with Ken Calvert, who's under investigation for shady land deals, certainly doesn't `succeed in restoring trust between the American people and their elected leaders,"' said Fernando Cuevas, Western regional press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "Republicans need to get serious about ethics and accountability."
Cuevas was referring to a statement by House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, who told CNN, "John (Doolittle) recognizes that if we are to succeed in restoring trust between the American people and their elected leaders, this action is necessary."
In addition to the FBI probe, the Riverside County grand jury sought documents from the Jurupa Community Services District on a land deal with Calvert's real-estate firm, Calvert Properties. The district had sold a 3.3-acre parcel to Calvert and his associates for $1.2million.
Staff writer Wendy Leung can be reached by e-mail at wendy.leung@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-9376.
By Wendy Leung
Staff Writer
Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Riverside, was temporarily appointed to the powerful House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, taking the seat of Rep. John Doolittle, R-Granite Bay.
Doolittle stepped down after it was disclosed that FBI agents in April had raided his Virginia home in a probe into his connections to lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Calvert is expected to serve for the remainder of the congressional session or until Republican leadership decides otherwise.
But Calvert's appointment to replace a controversial congressman snarled in the Abramoff scandal is raising eyebrows because Calvert himself is under close FBI scrutiny.
Calvert, who represents western Riverside County, has caught investigators' attention because he had been receiving campaign donations since 1999 from a lobbying firm that has close ties with Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands.
The FBI had been investigating links between Lewis, a ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, and the lobbying firm Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton & White.
Neither Lewis nor Calvert has been charged with any wrongdoing. But that Calvert's name has been linked to these probes and is temporarily replacing the closely scrutinized Doolittle has some raising objections.
"Replacing John Doolittle, who's under FBI investigation, with Ken Calvert, who's under investigation for shady land deals, certainly doesn't `succeed in restoring trust between the American people and their elected leaders,"' said Fernando Cuevas, Western regional press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "Republicans need to get serious about ethics and accountability."
Cuevas was referring to a statement by House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, who told CNN, "John (Doolittle) recognizes that if we are to succeed in restoring trust between the American people and their elected leaders, this action is necessary."
In addition to the FBI probe, the Riverside County grand jury sought documents from the Jurupa Community Services District on a land deal with Calvert's real-estate firm, Calvert Properties. The district had sold a 3.3-acre parcel to Calvert and his associates for $1.2million.
Staff writer Wendy Leung can be reached by e-mail at wendy.leung@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-9376.
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