EXCLUSIVE: Hayden Aide Assisted in 2nd MZM Donor ScamI wrote yesterday about how former NSA Director Michael Hayden’s aide, a top MZM executive, participated in an illegal campaign donation scam run by the head of his company, Mitchell Wade. (Wade, of course, has confessed to bribing Duke Cunningham, and is cooperating with prosecutors.)
I was wrong, as my colleague Paul gently noted to me. The executive — James C. King, on contract to the NSA from MZM — appears to have participated in two illegal campaign donation scams.
In addition to faking $8,000 in personal contributions to Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) on his company’s behalf, government records indicate King faked several thousand dollars in donations to Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA), also.
How did Paul discern King’s donations were part of the scam? King and his wife, Jeneane, each made two $2,000 contributions to Goode on March 24, 2003, according to FEC records compiled by opensecrets.org.
In Wade’s plea agreement with federal prosecutors, he admits that on that same date, two “straw donors” gave to Goode $4,000 apiece, and one straw donor gave $2,000, at Wade’s request.
A review of FEC records shows that no other donors connected to MZM gave to Goode in those quantities on that date.
King’s checks were part of $78,000 Wade funneled to the Virginia lawmaker. At the time of the contributions, MZM was pursuing a DoD contract to run a facility that would be located in Goode’s district. At a ceremony after MZM won the contract, Wade thanked Goode “particularly” for his help winning the business; Goode presented Wade with a flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol.
