The FBI Busts Goss, Wilkes, and the GOP Domestic Spy Industry

[leveymg]

Domestic spying: GOP and private NSA-CIA contractors

In his column yesterday, Josh Marshall just hints at this, but a lot more is going to come out about the relationship of private intelligence and defense contractors and how the GOP has used them to carry out covert domestic political spying and all variety of dirty-tricks operations.

The surveillance mechanism of privatized intel agencies, along with allied foreign intelligence operations inside the U.S., have been used for domestic partisan advantage and private gain. In return, GOP-allied contractors have been massively enriched by inflated defense and counter-terrorism spending. This is a criminal conspiracy that the FBI is only now beginning to break up after years of obstruction by the GOP. It's a criminal subversion of the politicalprocess that threatens the consititutional basis of the American republic.

The career CIA, DIA and FBI have known about this conspiracy for years, but have been muzzled and sidetracked by GOP flacks and hacks. This investigation, along with Plamegate and the OSP-AIPAC cases, show the good guys are fighting back.

Josh Marshall writes:http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/008376.php

SNIP

"Wilkes has deep ties into the CIA. The focal point of those ties is to Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, the man Porter Goss appointed to the #3 position at CIA when he took over the Agency last year. Remember, Wilkes' scam was getting corrupt contracts deep in the 'black' world of intelligence and defense appropriations, where there's little or no oversight. Foggo was in the contracting and procurement field at the CIA. So you can see how he and Wilkes, who have been friends since high school, had plenty to talk about.

"The CIA wasn't the only place Wilkes and his protege Wade plied their corrupt trade. There were also in the mix contracting on the Bush Pentagon's extra-constitutional spying operations. And I am told that senior appointees at the DOD knew about their corruption but overlooked it.

"Now, since the Cunningham scandal got under, and particularly of late, there's been a big tug of war between federal law enforcement and the CIA over whether to really go after Wilkes. Probably a little more specificity is in order there, folks at CIA in the orbit of Foggo and presumably Goss."

For more info on how the GOP has misused privatized intelligence agencies and allied foreign intelligence services for political gain, see:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/3/23/8418/64300
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/3/9/112130/2397
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/3/14/133330/930

[Octafish]

1. Go, the Good Guys!

TPM is moving the refrigerator away from the wall and the cock-a-roaches are a-scurrying.

Thanks, leveymg!

[seemslikeadream]

7. There's never just one

:hi:

[BigBearJohn]

40. OMG! That graphic of cockroaches is so utterly perfect.

We need to have someone do a poster with
all the cockroaches having little elephant heads
and antenna sticking out

I LOVE IT!!!

Caption: The GOP Corruption Scandal -- There's Never Just One

Ok -- who is good with Paint Shop?

[Joanne98]

2. CNN just said Hayden is going to be the nominee........

He's the fucker who's been spying on us. Can we get the Dems to block his nomination.

[Warpy]

3. The Goss = hookergate thing smells to high heaven, and

the stink isn't from cheap perfume on the hookers. Something else is going on, something far deeper.

Any time Brent Wilkes's name comes up, there's another strand on a huge spiderweb of GOP corruption being tugged on.

I hope we get to the big spider in the middle at some point.

[leveymg]

4. There's a whole nest of spiders in there.

They've been allowed to multiply in the secrecy created by classified programs, and feed off of black budgets. BushCo is just part of it.

[Dudley_DUright]

8. Rove or Cheney?

[Warpy]

17. They're just errand boys

The spider is somebody who likely shuns all publicity and whose name we barely know. If we do know it, it's from a list of multiple boards of directors of foundations more than corporations, likely an old name that's been around and malevolently influencing politics in this country for multiple generations.

Even if we never find the spider, getting rid of its web will get rid of its ability to do evil to us and our country.

[Spazito]

21. James Baker III is certainly on my spider shortlist

He appears in the most amazing places at the most amazing times.

[starroute]

25. Baker is not likely as a mastermind

By all accounts, he's always been the Bush family fixer -- someone whose own higher ambitions have been persistently thwarted by his lack of personal charisma.

Brent Scowcroft is a name that turns up even more places than Baker's -- also James Woolsey. Whatever is going on, they've got to be very close to the center of it.

In general, I'd say that anyone who is closely tied in with the Neocons but doesn't have the excuse of being Jewish is someone to be scrutinized carefully.

[Spazito]

28. I don't believe the spider is one person but, rather a very small

group of globalists in which Baker is a member. Baker has been a major player in the Middle East for years, a key Carlyle Group member, was in NY meeting with bin Laden family members on 9/11, is representing the Saudis in cases involving 9/11, a fixer for the bush family but was pivotal in the campaigns of Ford, Reagan and bush Sr.

Rather than Baker serving under the bush family cabal, I believe the bush family serves at the pleasure of Mr. Baker and the others in the small group.

[Joe Chi Minh]

31. Don't you say anything unkind about our Ford-accredited

'motability specialist'. Purveyor of 'used cars' of the highest quality, and each one with only 1200 miles on the clock.

"Yes siree! She's a nice clean unit. Guaranteed to the gate!

[vickitulsa]

26. I agree with you.

And when enough of the strings in the larger web are tugged on and the web-mass begins to unravel beyond repair, the illusion cannot be maintained, right?

So many ugly truths are about to be revealed, I think, that Americans are going to be in shock for literally months ... if not longer.

[cosmicdot]

36. wondering if Sibel Edmonds might have a clue?

"Why Sibel Edmonds will never talk"

"Most likely, she was translating intercepts of Azerbaijani businessmen or politicians that were involved in laundering large quantities of cash raised by Afghan heroin smuggling."

~

Chris Deliso: Hmm, well I know you can't name names, but can you tell me if any specific officials will suffer if your testimony comes out?

Sibel Edmonds: Yes. Certain elected officials will stand trial and go to prison.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/12/3/91613/7260



several names mentioned in this thread ...
confluence at US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce

including Henry Kissinger, who, also, hangs out at The Nixon Center; and, shows up on the Pentagon Defense Policy Board. He seems to be in the thick of things, but he could be an errand boy, too.


George likely has a big IOU attached to his role ... who does he owe a big favor?

~snip~ So what did Junior do for all this money? It's hard to say exactly, but things happened for Harken after Junior came on board:

it got a $25 million stock offering from an unusual bank with CIA ties,
it won a surprise exclusive drilling contract with Bahrain, a small Mideast country, and
an Arab member of its Board of Directors was invited to White House policy meetings with President George Bush and National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft.

Easy Money From Odd Sources

The firm's $25 million stock offering was underwritten by Stephens, Inc., an Arkansas bank whose head, Jackson Stephens, was on President Bush's "Team 100." (That was a group of 249 rich persons who gave at least $100,000 each to his presidential campaign committee). Stephens placed the offering with the London subsidiary of Union Bank of Switzerland, which (according to the Wall Street Journal) was not known as an investor in small American companies. /~snip~

http://www.realchange.org/bushjr.htm

(when I see Jackson Stephens' name associated with Bu$h, I can't help but recall that Stephens, Inc. is Sen. Blanche Lincoln's top contributor - She's been an enabler and needs to go, but that's another story.)


I wouldn't be surprised if things dotted back to 11.22.63; and, wouldn't be surprised if
some familiar names aren't dredged to the top as players: James Bath, Richard Mellon Scaife, Pug Winokur, Jackson Stephens, etc.

Covering up all the crimes of the past has brought us to the current mess. Our politics are poisoned with corruption. I say it's time to let heads roll. We can't sustain with this corrupt cancer. Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of their country.

I call Treason.

[corbett]

18. This Is A Mutual Conspiracy Of Theirs – One Of Many

All you have to do is follow the logic of how the groundwork for 9/11 was laid and you have your answer. It went a little something like this:

1) Cheney never was happy that George H.W. Bush ordered him not to assassinate Saddam during Desert Storm.

2) Sometime after leaving his job as Secretary of Defense and ascending to the throne at Halliburton, Cheney decided that he wanted to be VP.

3) In the late 1990's, Karl Rove decided that he had the juice to make the governor of Texas President.

4) After the chimp agreed to run with Cheney as his #2, KKKarl set to work on his plan to assure reelection in 2004. For that, he needed a war. He needed an attack on American soil as large as Pearl Harbor. He discussed this need with Cheney.

5) Cheney retained his top secret tentacles into the Pentagon and the intelligence committee and knew about the status of Able Danger. He told KKKarl that he could deliver on the need for a war. As soon as he became VP, it was legal for him to open the spiggot of the status of black ops.

6) KKKarl and Cheney then decided that they would facilitate an attack on American soil and 9/11 happened.

7) In order to keep the truth from leaking out of the myriad cracks in the dike which began to form on September 12, 2001, KKKarl and Cheney ramped up their program of keeping their friends close and their enemies closer. That was done through a combination of bribery (Bechtel and Halliburton among others), coercion and spying.

8) What we're seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg of all of the illegal, immoral and unconstitutional maneuvers they've committed through a combination of having appointed puppets in the right place and convincing a Congress that they would maintaining Republican rule if they cast a blind eye anytime KKKarl of Cheney told them to.

[patriothackd]

42. More complicated than that.

Also longer in the making.

[cascadiance]

12. Damnit! I don't want crooks like Wilkes walking around free here in Poway

We've already had too many crooks around here! Put him in jail already!

[SupplyConcerns]

34. Most everyone in DC can be blackmailed -

The question is why Goss got screwed here.

[Independent_Liberal]

5. K&R!

[bobthedrummer]

6. One thing is important, shining the light of truth into the "shadow

government" of these criminals and traitors.

Anyone that has some of the hidden history about what's "in the bowels" of our national security community knows that a storm is coming that is long overdue.

[seemslikeadream]

19. US Marine Corps Lieutenant General William Boykin

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3225695/

WILLIAM BOYKIN is the general who has recently been appointed to a senior Defense Department post. Over the last two years the general has given dozens of addresses to evangelical Christian groups in which, describing his battle with a Somali (Muslim) warlord, he has said: “I knew that my God was bigger than his God. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol.” He has also repeatedly explained that America’s enemy was “a spiritual enemy ... called Satan.” The enemy will only be defeated, he added, “if we come against them in the name of Jesus.” A few more of these and Osama bin Laden won’t need to make videos anymore. He can just put together the greatest hits of Boykin, Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell and they will make his point nicely—that Americans see all Muslims as enemies. Oh, and here is a quick refresher course for the Pentagon intelligence chiefs: Islam was founded, in part, as a reaction against idol worship and rigorously prohibits any graven images. When have you seen a statue of Muhammad?


“To ordain, establish, and pledge our fidelity to our Aryan Racial Nation, under the Law of God, the uniting of our individual strength as a united lawful power, for the preservation and total independence from all alien influence and control over our Faith, Children, and Destiny.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/STA310A.html

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0408&article=040810x
Web Exclusive! Full Transcript of Bill Moyers' Speech at Pentecost 2004

General William Boykin
Consider the American general who has turned up as a force in the web of command and action leading to the torture and humiliation of prisoners in Iraq. General William Boykin, you may recall, is the commander who lost l8 men in Somalia trying to capture a warlord in the notorious Black Hawk Down fiasco of 1993. He later described the conflict as a battle between good and evil. “I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol.” According to Sidney Blumenthal in The Guardian on May 20, Boykin became a circuit rider for the religious right, active in a group called the Faith Force Multiplier that advocates applying military principles to evangelism. Their manifesto summons warriors in “spiritual battle for the souls of this nation and the world.” Traveling the country with his slide show, while an active member of the United States military command, General Boykin declared that “Satan wants to destroy this nation, he wants to destroy us as a nation, and he wants to destroy us as a Christian army.” The forces of Satan will only be defeated, said the general, if we come against them in the name of Jesus.” You might have thought that kind of fatwa from a high military officer would have struck the powers-that-be in the Pentagon and White House as somewhat un-American, if not unchristian. But not only was General Boykin kept in office, he has now turned up as a principal in the chain of command leading to the Iraqi prison.

It was Boykin, says Blumenthal, who flew to Guantanamo and ordered Major General Geoffrey Miller, then in charge of prisoners at the highly secret Camp X-Ray, to go to Iraq and extend the methods practiced at X-Ray to the prison system there, on orders of Secretary Rumsfeld. This is the same General Boykin who last June publicly announced that “George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters. He was appointed by God.” I’m not making this up. “Onward Christian Soldiers” is back in vogue and the 2lst century version of the Crusades has taken on aspects of the righteous ferocity that marked its predecessors.

[seemslikeadream]

22. “One, I believe there’s an Almighty.

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/060508ta_talk_packer

But what if they do? This is not a President who places his faith in the wisdom of men. When thirteen former Secretaries of State and Defense were summoned to the White House in January, Bush gave them all of ten minutes to air their views. Last week, in California, he described his policymaking process in unmistakably clear terms. “I base a lot of my foreign-policy decisions on some things that I think are true,” he said. “One, I believe there’s an Almighty. And, secondly, I believe one of the great gifts of the Almighty is the desire in everybody’s soul, regardless of what you look like or where you live, to be free.”

[fooj]

37. Yep. You are spot on.

Peace.

[benddem]

9. rumor above

is that Goss is going to replace Harris on the ticket in the senate race. Wonder if this is just wishful thinking by repugs?? :shrug:

[cosmicdot]

39. and, if that happens, will Harris go quietly?

she knows too much (but, complicit as well)

oh, it's a mess ... the cancer has grown, and the patient (USA) is in need of intensive care

this moment in our history is HUGH!!!1!


the number of the corrupt involved (and, the crimes committed) could be staggering
but, we sure would benefit from finally ending this long run (destroying our country) ...

The pardon list might be staggering, too, which, if happens, would mean they would live to continue their evil ways ... the Iran-Contra gang would ride again! Gerald "Warren Commission" Ford's pardon of Nixon didn't save the country from any anguish ... it just contributed to continuing that which led to it ... the nightmare isn't over ... we're still living it. Poppy "October Surprise" Bu$h's pardons did similar.

It's the head of the Octopus which Danny Casolaro was seeking ... it's the host upon which all the other parasites (the Bu$hies, DeLays, Pat Robertsons, etc.) feed their own selfish agendas and corrupt selves ... many who meet-up at the secretive Council on National Policy.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

10. This is excellent news as far as I'm concerned.....

...and it also tells us that the rank-and-file of the intelligence agencies have been, and are fighting back.

[WiseButAngrySara]

14. Yeah, if the Media would stop Lying Daily, by commission and omission! n/t

[Zorra]

11. Corrupt republicans are placing us all in great danger by creating

a chaotic situation within the CIA.

Republicans really are children in adult bodies, children that are playing with a fire that could end up burning our house down if we don't get rid of them in 2006. Republicans are clueless, immature, stupid, and very, very dangerous to America.

[H2O Man]

13. Nominated.

It's funny, how people like Bush & Co. are invested in their "end times" theology, and are blind to the fact that they are on the dark side of the largest "good versus evil" conflict in America today.

[WiseButAngrySara]

15. How will General Hayden's selection to replace Goss affect these

revelations? Couldn't he easily throw a monkey wrench into all of this? How unusual is it for a General to be head of the CIA? Anyone else really bothered about this?

:kick: and R!

[alfredo]

16. Though I am fond of the NSA because of my history, I do not trust

anyone who has the blessings of Negropointe. Hayden is big on warrant-less wiretapping. He can't be trusted.

Some generals are good, some have gone to the dark side, supporting an autocratic/theocratic state.

[sofa king]

20. Not too unusual.

According to The Spy Book, Directors of Central Intelligence have included the first, Lt. Gen. Walter "Beetle" Smith, as well as Vice Adm. William Raborn, Jr., Lt. Gen. Vernon Walters (acting DCI), and Adm. Stansfield Turner.

Of those, Gen. Walters might warrant the closest inspection. He was the #2 guy at CIA throughout the Watergate years, and at one point found himself as acting Director.

Who's the #2 guy right now?

[WiseButAngrySara]

24. From Wiki: if #2 guy is Deputy Director...

The current Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency is Vice Admiral Albert M. Calland, III, USN<3>. The DD/CIA assists the Director in his duties as head of the CIA and exercises the powers of the Director when the Director’s position is vacant or in the Director’s absence or disability.

The current Associate Director for Military Support is Major General John T. Brennan, USAF<4>. The AD/MS the DCIA's principal advisor and representative on military issues. The AD/MS coordinates Intelligence Community efforts to provide Joint Force commanders with timely, accurate intelligence. The AD/MS also supports Department of Defense officials who oversee military intelligence training and the acquisition of intelligence systems and technology. A senior general officer, the AD/MS ensures coordination of Intelligence Community policies, plans and requirements relating to support to military forces in the intelligence budget.

The Executive Director of the Central Intelligence Agency is Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, who has responsibility for the CIA's day-to-day management.


Thanks for your info!

[struggle4progress]

23. The black budget boondoggle has been a problem for decades.

Party line: "Can't even tell you how much we spent without threatening national security."
Fun fact: Big invisible chunk of defense spending.
Summary: Do it for the cronies.

<edit: accuracy>

[Ms. Clio]

27. I think this is it

I think this is where the rubber finally meets the road.

My god.

[Hamlette]

29. how did the investigation get out of GOP control?

Did they learn a lesson from Nixon? (Nixon lost most support over using the CIA to get the FBI to stop investigating Watergate...the abuse of power thingie.) If this is about money and hookers, it seems the GOP coulda shoulda controlled this investigation and made sure it didn't see the light of day.

Maybe I didn't pay close enough attention to Duke's case. How/why is this house of cards falling now?

[nashville_brook]

30. does this go all the way to the faulty IRAQ war intel?

from the first Kos article:

On background, it should be noted that Laura Rozen's War&Piece column of December 11, 2005, "Wade, Wilkes and Bad Intelligence?" identified Mitchell Wade's MZM defense contracting firm as a culprit in faulty intelligence generation that led to the invasion of Iraq.

http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/003244.html

[bonito]

32. Yes!!! National security at its best! n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

33. Wow! Does that mean that the GOP is about to get scrubbed?

[SoCalDem]

35. Indictment imminent for Foggo(leghorn)..but back to Wilkes

http://tpmmuckraker.com/wilkes.php



Brent Wilkes bribed Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA), according to Cunningham's Nov. 28, 2005 plea agreement.

Aside from serving as San Diego County finance co-chairman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state finance co-chairman for President Bush (he was a "Pioneer"), Brent Wilkes has worked as a federal defense contractor and lobbyist since the early 1990s. Since 1996, he has received at least $95 million in government contracts for the small family of firms based in his headquarters in Poway, Calif.

Key Points

Wilkes played a major role in the bribery scandal that forced Duke Cunningham from office in 2005.

Brent Wilkes has been identified as "Coconspirator No. 1" in Duke Cunningham's Nov. 28, 2005 plea agreement.

Wilkes gave more than $630,000 in illegal cash and favors to Duke Cunningham, including $525,000 to pay off a mortgage on Cunningham's new Rancho Santa Fe home in 2004. The plea agreement charged that in return for the payments, Cunningham "used his public office and took other official action to influence U.S. Department of Defense personnel to award and execute government contracts." Cunningham helped Wilkes win at least $80 million in Pentagon contracts.

Wilkes has not been formally charged in the Cunningham case. Prosecutors say the investigation is continuing.

Wilkes targeted contributions to members of Congress in order to secure defense contracts through congressional earmarks.

From 1995 to 2005, Wilkes and his associates have spent at least $600,000 on contributions to politicians and their political action committees and $1.1 million on lobbying, developing relationships with Republican lawmakers, including Reps. Tom DeLay (R-TX), Duncan Hunter (R-CA), John Doolittle (R-CA), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Cunningham. Wilkes won tens of millions of dollars worth of defense contracts for his companies through the process of closed-door congressional earmarking of the federal budget. Many of the contracts Wilkes secured were for projects the Pentagon never requested. The timing of Wilkes' many political donations closely parallels the approval of earmarks for Wilkes' companies. Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who is prosecuting Tom DeLay in Texas, subpoenaed records related to contributions to DeLay by Brent Wilkes' business associates at his company PerfectWave.

Aside from monetary contributions, Wilkes provided many favors to congressmen, including the use of a corporate jet. Wilkes took Cunningham on several out-of-state trips on a corporate jet, and let Cunningham use his powerboat as well. Tom DeLay flew on Wilkes' jet at least three times between 2003 and 2005, and sources claim that House Speaker Dennis Hastert flew on Wilkes' jet several times as well. Wilkes won contracts for his company PerfectWave through earmarks by Representative John Doolittle. Rep. John Doolittle, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, admitted to steering $37 million in defense contracts toward PerfectWave between 2002 and 2005, contracts not requested by the Navy. PerfectWave donated at least $85,000 to Doolittle and his political action committee during the same time period.

In a January 2006 statement Doolittle claimed his backing for PerfectWave was "based solely on the project's merits and the written support of the military." However, the only evidence Doolittle's office could offer to show military support for PerfectWave was a letter of praise from Marine Corps program manager Robert Lusardi, dated two and a half years after PerfectWave got its first earmark. Wilkes' lobbying firm, Group W, retained Alexander Strategy Group, a lobbying firm known for direct access to Tom DeLay.

Less than a month after Wilkes took over at PerfectWave in 2002, he hired Alexander Strategy Group to help the company win appropriations from defense and intelligence agencies. Alexander Strategy Group was a lobbying firm headed by Tom DeLay's former Chief of Staff, Ed Buckham, and staffed by former DeLay employees. The firm had a well-publicized reputation as a conduit to DeLay's office. Between 2002 and 2005, Wilkes paid the firm $630,000 in lobbying fees. Wilkes was sued by a former business partner, for whom Wilkes promised he could procure $25 million in defense contracts but failed to do so.

In 2003 Wilkes told business partner Randy Beck that for $1.5 million in lobbying fees and related expenses, he could get a $25 million Navy contract for technologies that Beck was developing. Beck agreed to the deal and mortgaged his home to raise money to pay Wilkes' lobbying fees. Wilkes failed to obtain the contracts that he promised. Despite his failure to deliver, Wilkes demanded that Beck pay the remainder of the lobbying fees. In July 2005 the two men sued each other, with Wilkes seeking payment for his services and Beck accusing Wilkes of a breach of contract. The matter was settled out of court last fall, with both parties bound by an agreement not to discuss the outcome.

Research by Ben Craw and Amram Migdal

[upi402]

38. thanks Ben Craw and Amram Migdal

:toast: :toast: :toast:

[chat_noir]

41. K&R

Thanks!!