A House ethics committee report released Friday indicated that the late Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) knew companies believed donating to his campaigns would increase their chances of getting an earmark, but he had no knowledge of who donated and his earmark requests were handled by staff with no knowledge of campaign finances.
Murtha, who died Feb. 8 from complications related to gall bladder surgery, was considered at the center of an investigation into the now-defunct PMA Group lobbying firm, in part because of his relationship with the founder of the company, Paul Magliocchetti. Magliocchetti had been a staffer on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense in the 1980s when Murtha was a member of the panel, and the ethics report indicates that the two had close personal ties.
Full story: Ethics Report: Campaign Money Didn’t Buy Murtha Earmarks – Roll Call