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WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury has subpoenaed records of an Indiana congressman in a criminal probe involving a top lobbying firm that specialized in funneling federal contracts to defense firms.
Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., said Friday that the subpoenas went to his congressional office, campaign committees and some of his employees and that they demanded documents related to the firm PMA Group, which disbanded after it came under federal investigation.
The company's founder, Paul Magliocchetti, is a former aide on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense chaired by Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa. Visclosky is also a member of the panel, and chairs another House appropriations subcommittee.
Visclosky says he will cooperate with the investigation, which he described as being in an early stage. He says he will not comment further.
"I am confident that at the end of this process, no one will conclude that I have done anything wrong or harmed my constituents in any way," Visclosky's statement said.
House members are required to disclose to Congress any subpoenas involving their offices. Visclosky made the announcement in a statement issued through his congressional office.
Visclosky has longtime ties to PMA, which employed his former congressional chief of staff. One out of every five dollars in political donations to Visclosky over the past seven years came from PMA employees or its clients. He also has received more money from PMA employees than any other member of Congress.
At the same time, Visclosky has reciprocated with valuable earmarks for PMA clients. In 2008 alone, he helped to secure more than $23 million in earmarks for the company's clients.
Ethics watchdogs have pointed to the link between Visclosky's earmarks for PMA and donations to his campaign as an example of the pay-to-play politics that have plagued Washington.
Magliocchetti is now under criminal investigation and Visclosky is faced with a paper trail that indicates he collected $1.4 million in donations since 1993 from the firm and its clients, most of them defense contractors.
Federal investigators have been looking into allegations PMA helped to funnel money to lawmakers through so-called straw donors. Earlier this year, Visclosky agreed to return at least $18,000 in campaign cash from donors who were listed as having ties to PMA Group. Visclosky has since disclosed that he hired a personal attorney to represent him in the ongoing investigation.
Visclosky represents a northwest Indiana district notorious for local corruption, but he has always prided himself on staying above the fray.
He has also sought to appear open and cooperative in the PMA investigation. Earlier this year, he joined a Republican-led call for a House ethics committee investigation into PMA's activities.
The financial clout of Visclosky, a relatively obscure congressman, stems from his chairmanship of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water and his status as the third-ranking Democrat on Murtha's defense subcommittee.
From those positions, Visclosky has helped dispense billions in federal contracts to defense and other firms that have financed his re-election campaigns.
The money has made Visclosky immune to any serious political challenge in his northwest Indiana district, where he routinely wins re-election by margins of better than 3-1. In the House since 1985, Visclosky never has faced significant Republican opposition.
His money machine went into high gear after chief of staff Richard Kaelin jumped ship to PMA. From 2005 to 2007, Visclosky's contributions from PMA and its clients averaged a quarter of a million dollars a year.
(This version CORRECTS 7th paragraph to say "one of out of five" not one out of four.)
