U.S. Rep. David Davis Received Donations From Company He Secured Money For

U.S. Rep. David Davis, R-Tenn., is this election season’s leading congressional recipient of donations from a billion-dollar global defense contractor accused of bribing Saudi officials with call girls and money.
The donations to Davis, totaling $11,000, began trickling into his campaign fund after he requested $4.4 million in federal funding for the contractor, federal campaign records show. After cuts in the congressional appropriations process, the arms dealer landed $4 million.
Last year, as the political action committee (PAC) of the London-based contractor BAE Systems Inc. funneled donations to Davis’ campaign fund, the congressman was busy helping set aside two federal funds for facility upgrades to the company’s Kingsport, Tenn., location – Holston Army Ammunition Plant.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., is listed in spending bills as a co-sponsor on one of Davis’ earmarks to BAE Systems. Federal campaign records show that Alexander received $3,500 in contributions from the arms dealer’s PAC in 2007.
To receive the federal money, BAE Systems had only to ask. The multimillion-dollar contracts came from an earmarked fund, which means it was set aside without the company having to go through the same bidding process as with other federal contracts.
Each year, Congress approves billions of dollars in its spending bills to private companies, municipal governments and scientific research. For 2008, Congress approved $14.8 billion, according to political watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Friends

Davis, in a telephone interview, told the Bristol Herald Courier the earmarks he secured for BAE Systems would ensure job stability at the Kingsport plant.
“I can tell you that BAE Systems has a great friend in northeastern Tennessee,” he added. He said he was unaware of the international corruption allegations.
BAE Systems, which is among the world’s top arms dealers, has been the subject of anti-corruption probes in England and in the United States since 2006. The British investigation ground to a halt for fears that angered Saudi government officials might turn a blind eye to terrorism, according to published reports.
BAE did not respond to Herald Courier queries.
The defense company’s political contribution arm, BAE Systems USA PAC, is among the largest donors to Davis’ campaign, the David Davis Victory Fund based in Johnson City, Tenn., according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics. Most of Davis’ donations come from the health care industry, however.
The PAC’s $11,000 worth of donations to Davis, made in various increments throughout 2007, puts the congressman slightly ahead of all the other House and Senate members on the arms dealer’s donation list.
Among the others are Democrats Sen. Edward Kennedy, with $1,000, and U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, with $5,000. More than 100 House and Senate members are listed as recipients of $429,800 from BAE Systems for the 2008 election cycle, campaign finance reports show.
Overall, the PAC’s largest donations went to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ($30,000); the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ($30,000); the National Republican Congressional Committee ($30,000); and the Republican National Council ($15,000). Next comes the David Davis Victory Fund.
The arms company, which is among the 10 largest U.S. defense contractors, has spent slightly more than $25 million in lobbying and campaign contributions since 1998, according to reports by the Center for Responsive Politics.
BAE Systems has been “a pretty substantial donor” in the world of campaign finance, said Center for Responsive Politics analyst Douglas Webber.

Timing

Congressman Davis requested the earmarks for BAE Systems on March 16, 2007, nearly a week before the company submitted its first donation of the year to him, campaign finance reports show. The donation, for $1,000, was used to pay off a debt from his previous election campaign. The first donation to go into Davis’ current campaign fund came the next month, in April. It was for $5,000.
The bill sponsored by both Davis and Sen. Alexander was for improvements to the Kingsport plant’s thermobaric munitions and explosives factory. Davis sought $2 million for the upgrade, while Alexander sought $2.4 million. In the end, Alexander’s amount was fulfilled.
A separate request by Davis alone sought $2.4 million for an acid recovery system. Congress approved $1.6 million.
Davis received his final donation from the defense giant in early November 2007, the same month Congress gave the earmarks a final approval. The donation was for $1,500.
Davis told the Herald Courier that he was not aware of the coincidental timing of BAE Systems’ contributions, and the contributions were not in return for the earmarks.
“You’ll have to ask them how they choose to donate,” Davis said.
BAE Systems spokesman Greg Caires, contacted by telephone Friday, said the company would answer Herald Courier queries later that day if they were e-mailed. The company has not responded.
Campaign records show BAE Systems also had made contributions to other federal candidates on the same days money went into Davis’ fund.
Davis told the Herald Courier he is comfortable accepting money from a defense firm, which manufactures arms the world over, as long as neither the company nor its customers defy American ideals.
“As far as I know, [BAE Systems doesn’t] sell to anyone that’s opposed to America,” Northeast Tennessee’s congressman said.

Investigation

At the time of Davis’ March 2007 multimillion-dollar requests, BAE Systems had just emerged from a British investigation into allegations of bribing Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan in 1985. At the time, Prince Bandar was the Saudi ambassador to the United States.
BAE Systems negotiated with him for a 20-year, $80 billion arms deal, according to published reports. The bribery allegedly began during the negotiations and continued until recently.
Prince Bandar is now the national security chief for Saudi Arabia.
The British investigation abruptly ended on orders from government officials. Then Prime Minister Tony Blair is reported by BBC News to have said that the investigation would have led to “the complete wreckage of a strategic relationship” and would have cost “thousands of British jobs.”
In June last year, BAE Systems became the subject of a federal probe in the United States, this time on allegations the company set up a “slush fund” worth millions of dollars for members of the Saudi royal family. The money, according to published reports, paid for high-priced prostitutes, planes and hotel stays.
The U.S. Department of Justice declined to confirm for the Herald Courier whether an investigation is ongoing.
BAE Systems has confirmed the investigation to BBC News, however. The company also confirmed that its chief executive, Mike Turner, was briefly detained for questioning by federal officials when he arrived at a Houston airport last month.
Davis, when told of the allegations, said an investigation does not mean that the company is guilty of any wrongdoing.
He also defended political contributions from big companies.
“It doesn’t mean it’s evil. It doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It’s just a way for them to have a voice in the political process,” he said.

| (276) 645-2549