Watergategate Update 6/15/06 (The Saga of the Curious Limo Contract)

Paul Kiel and Justin Rood at TPM Muckraker have been following the hearings, in the House Homeland Security Committee, on Shirlington Limousine's $21 million contract with DHS. The president and vice president of the limo company had been invited to give testimony, "but they declined because of a federal grand jury investigation." Also, committee chair Peter King and ranking Democrat Bennie Thompson said a signed affidavit from Shirlington Pres Christopher Baker claims Duke Cunningham vouched for the company in a letter to DHS officials, when they were lobbying for the contract. But DHS claims they have no record of any such letter. In a followup report Rood and Kiel detect the odor of fish in the timing sequence of events in the awarding of Shirlington's contract. Seems Baker submitted a proposal to DHS three months before the DHS announced it would be seeking bids for such a contract. Moreover, Shirlington was given a very dubious federal recognition as a small business operating in "distressed areas" one week before the DHS made its bid solicitation public - and for which the special small biz status was required. Two weeks later Shirlington got its contract. Apparently committee members smelled something unpleasant as well.