Source:
Miami Herald Sen. Mel Martinez's office repeatedly intervened in a 2007 legal dispute between the Defense Department and a company owned by a top Republican fundraiser who is now at the center of a campaign-finance investigation, according to records obtained by The Miami Herald.
In a series of phone calls and e-mails, a Martinez aide urged Pentagon contract officers to seek a ``fair resolution'' to $14 million in contract claims sought by the International Oil Trading Co., a fuel-supply company co-owned by Harry Sargeant III of Boca Raton.
At one point, Pentagon officials told the senator's office it was ``not appropriate'' to discuss any settlements while the company's lawsuit was pending in court, records show.
As Martinez's staffer was lobbying the Pentagon, Sargeant and his wife donated $50,000 to the Republican National Committee -- then headed by Martinez. At the time, Sargeant was the finance chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.
.....
Sargeant gained notoriety last year as a fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate John McCain, whose campaign returned $50,000 in suspicious donations solicited by a Sargeant business partner. In February, an employee of a Sargeant company was indicted on federal charges of funneling illegal contributions to several candidates, including McCain and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist -- a college buddy of Sargeant's.
Read more:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/1218572.html
Well, well, well. Old Mel has insisted all the while that these RNC donations were NOT RELATED to Mr. Sargeant's contract troubles.
It's liars and thieves like this, who go into politics for one reason only, and that is to use the power of government to enrich themselves and their friends. This is why there is such a profound distrust of government by so many people.
Good riddance to Mel Martinez next week. Now, on to the next crony to occupy Mel's senate seat, this time Charlie Crist's best pal and seat warmer, George LeMieux.
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