7 in House, including Rep. Norm Dicks, scrutinized by ethics investigators

WASHINGTON — Nearly half the members of a powerful House subcommittee in control of Pentagon spending, including Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton, are under scrutiny by ethics investigators in Congress, who have trained their lens on the relationships between seven members and an influential lobbying firm founded by a former Capitol Hill aide.

The investigations by two separate ethics offices include an examination of the powerful subcommittee chairman, John Murtha, D-Pa., as well as others who helped the PMA Group secure earmarks for clients. The lawmakers received campaign contributions from the firm and its clients. Records obtained by The Washington Post show that the members under scrutiny also include Peter Visclosky, D-Ind.; James P. Moran Jr., D-Va.; Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla.; and Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan.

The records also indicate that the House ethics-committee staff recently interviewed the staff of Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., about the lawmaker's allegation that a PMA lobbyist threatened him in 2007 when he resisted steering federal funds to a PMA client. The lobbyist told a Nunes staffer that if the lawmaker didn't help, the defense contractor would move out of Nunes' district and take dozens of jobs with him.

The document obtained by The Post offers the most detailed picture yet of a widening inquiry into the relationships between members and PMA, a lobbying firm founded by Paul Magliochetti that has been under criminal investigation by the Justice Department. A year ago, the FBI raided PMA's offices and carted away boxes of records dealing with its political donations and the firm's efforts to win earmarks for their clients.

In March, The Seattle Times reported that since 2003, Dicks received a total of $84,000 in donations from individuals or groups with PMA ties. PMA's political-action committee also donated $5,000 to the charity Defenders of Wildlife on Dicks' behalf. As the second ranking Democrat on Murtha's subcommittee, Dicks wields substantial influence over defense spending.

In the past two years, The Times reported in March, Dicks pushed for nine earmarks worth $20 million for PMA clients. Those clients included defense contractors with satellite offices in Bremerton, such as 21 Century Systems, Advanced Acoustic Concepts and Concurrent Technologies. Each company is involved in defense technology.

The document obtained by The Post shows that both the ethics committee and the Office of Congressional Ethics are looking into the matter. The OCE investigates and makes recommendations to the House ethics committee, which has the power to subpoena and sanction members.

Internal ethics investigations of members of Congress are normally confidential, but The Post learned details of their work through a document that became available on a file-sharing network, and was made available to The Post by a source familiar with such networks.

Information from Seattle Times archives was used in this report.