Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) is the favorite for filling Rep. Tom DeLay’s (R-TX) seat on the House Appropriations Committee when DeLay steps down, CongressDaily is reporting.
That name’s familiar. In 2004, Calvert accompanied former Rep. (and current convicted felon) Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-CA) to Saudi Arabia. Convicted felon Thomas Kontogiannis, a pal of Cunningham’s, joined the two.
Calvert has said he didn’t know Kontogiannis’ past (nor, certainly, Cunningham’s future), but “If I had known his background, I wouldn’t have felt very comfortable.” As for what they were all doing in Saudi Arabia, Calvert told TPM last November, “the three spent their time in Saudi Arabia meeting with government ministers and exploring ways the Saudis could be more helpful in prosecuting the war on terrorism.”
