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The Jerry Lewis – Lowery lobbying firm controversy stems from the relationship between Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and a lobbying firm, known as Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White, where good friend and former U.S. Congressman Bill Lowery was a partner from 1993 to 2006. The basic allegations are that Lewis, by virtue of his chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee (since January 2005), and his prior chairmanship of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, was able, through earmarks and other methods, to steer hundreds of millions of dollars to clients of Lowery's firm. Lowery and his firm have earned millions of dollars in fees from these clients. Lowery and others in his firm, in turn, have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Lewis' campaign committee and political action committee. Defense contractors who are clients of the lobbying firm have also given hundreds of thousands of dollars. Lewis, who has not faced serious opposition in his re-election campaigns in the past ten years, has used his campaign and PAC funds in support of other Republicans, something that helped him become chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. The Justice department ultimately dropped its investigation into the firm and Mr. Lewis. A spokesman for the department had no further comment. In addition, two key individuals on Lewis' staff (Letitia White and Jeff Shockey) went to work for Copeland Lowery, earning millions of dollars for themselves; Richard White, Letitia's husband, has seen a steep increase in his income since he switched to being a lobbyist for defense firms; Lewis' stepdaughter has benefited from his ties to the lobbyists; and Jeff Shockey, upon returning to work of Lewis in 2005, was paid two million dollars by Copeland Lowery as "severance", based upon projected revenues of the lobbying firm for the eleven months ''following'' his departure. == Federal investigation == No individual has been formally charged with any wrongdoing, but there is now an ongoing federal investigation being run by the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles, and a federal grand jury in Los Angeles has issued at least 10 subpoenas. As of early July 2006, one of Lowery's two ex-wives, Melinda Morrin, has been interviewed twice by the FBI about her ex-husband's dealings.〔Eric Werner, ("Lawmaker-turned-lobbyist at center of 'earmarking' probe" ), ''Associated Press'', July 15, 2006〕 On June 1, 2006, the ''San Bernardino Sun'' reported that the City of Redlands, California and San Bernardino County, California, both clients of Lowery's law firm, had been subpoenaed in the federal investigation into possible lobbying and earmarking abuses by Lowery's firm and Lewis.〔Guy McCarthy, ("FBI eyes county records; Sources: Feds probe lobbyist tied to Lewis" ), ''San Bernardino County Sun'', June 1, 2006〕 Four days later it was revealed that two other clients of the law firm, California State University San Bernardino and Riverside County, California, had also been subpoenaed.〔John Bresnahan, ("Subpoenas Indicate Lewis Probe Is Heating Up" ), ''Roll Call'', June 5, 2006〕 On June 6, three more California cities, Loma Linda, Yucca Valley, and Twentynine Palms stated that they had been issued subpoenas.〔George Watson and Andrew Silva, ("Subpoenas revealed: 2 more cities asked to give documents related to Lewis" ), ''San Bernardino County Sun'', June 6, 2006〕〔Guy McCarthy and Andrew Silva, ("Yucca Valley tied to Lewis Inquiry" ), ''San Bernardino County Sun'', June 6, 2006〕 On June 14, Highland, California announced it had been issued a subpoena.〔George Watson, ("Highland's turn in Lewis inquiry" ), ''San Bernardino County Sun'', June 15, 2006〕 On June 28, 2006, an official of ESRI said that the company had also received a federal subpoena as part the ongoing investigation into the ties between Lewis and Copeland Lowery. "We have no concerns," ESRI spokesman Don Berry said. "We retain a lobbyist and it is not an issue for us."〔Duane W. Gang, ("Lewis probe expands" ),''Press-Enterprise'', June 28, 2006〕 On September 5, 2006, the ''Associated Press'' reported that federal investigators were looking into a donation of of land to the city of Redlands by the owners of ESRI in 2001, land adjacent to the home of Lewis.〔Jerimiah Marquez, ("Feds looking at land deal involving Jerry Lewis" ), ''Associated Press'', September 5, 2006〕 On December 4, 2010 the New York Times reported that the Justice Department had ended its investigation on the relationship between Mr. Lewis and Copeland Lowery. “The D.O.J. response confirms what I’ve known from Day 1 — that the facts and the truth of this matter will ultimately prevail,” Mr. Lewis said in a statement. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jerry Lewis – Lowery lobbying firm controversy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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