http://www.thoughtcrimes.org/s9/index.php?/archives/755-Just-another-corrupt-Republican.html
Former senior members of U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris' congressional staff say they initially rejected a defense contractor's $10 million appropriation request last year but reversed course after being instructed by Harris to approve it.
Harris insisted that Mitchell Wade's request for funding be given to a defense appropriations subcommittee, despite the request's being late and difficult to understand, according to two former staff members and Harris' former chief political strategist.
"She said, 'It's important to me, so submit it,' " said an ex-staffer who was involved in the process. "She wanted it in."
Wade is the contractor at the center of a congressional bribery scandal that has landed a California lawmaker in prison.
In the weeks before Harris submitted Wade's appropriations request, Wade spent up to $2,800 entertaining Harris at one of Washington's most expensive restaurants.
There, he and Harris discussed the request and Wade -- whose company had contributed thousands to her 2004 congressional campaign -- offered to have a fundraiser for her 2006 Senate race.
http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2006/09/report_harris_a.html
Report: Harris and Feeney are corrupt
Two Floridians - U.S. Reps. Katherine Harris and Tom Feeney - were included on a new list of the most corrupt members of Congress.
CREW - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington - released its second annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress entitled Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch).
Harris was included on the list for her relationship with convicted defense contractor Mitchell Wade and Feeney for possible violations to the House travel and gift rules. Feeney was included for the second year in a row.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060524/NEWS/605240371/-1/elections02
When a corrupt defense contractor took Katherine Harris to a posh D.C. restaurant last year, it wasn't the first time he wined and dined the Longboat Key Republican.
Mitchell Wade had taken Harris to dinner at the same highend restaurant, Citronelle, the year before, a Harris campaign spokesman said Monday.
And just like the 2005 dinner, Harris has acknowledged not paying for her share of the 2004 meal. Spokesman Chris Ingram said it was an "oversight" and Harris has made a charitable donation in the amount that would have covered her share of the tab.
However, Ingram said he did not know how much the donation was for or which charity got it. Harris made the donation with her personal money and not through the campaign, Ingram said.
Wade, the former CEO of MZM Inc., is at the center of an ongoing national bribery scandal. Wade has already pleaded guilty in federal court to bribing U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., and to making $32,000 in illegal campaign donations to Harris.
Harris' previous campaign adviser, Ed Rollins, quit her campaign in March, citing the growing controversy with Wade as one of the reasons for his departure.
Harris has been trying to distance herself from the scandal ever since Wade pleaded guilty in February. Harris has repeatedly refused to answer specific questions about her relationship with Wade or Cunningham. In a Sunday television interview on Bay News 9, Harris repeated her standard answer to questions about her relationship with Wade.
"I've done nothing wrong. The Justice Department has not asked me any questions. I simply had the opportunity to have a naval intelligence program in my district," Harris said.