Harper's editor says six members of Congress caught in Watergate party scandal

RAW STORY
Published: Tuesday May 9, 2006

The Washington Editor of Harper's magazine, Ken Silverstein, continues to allege that six members current and former members of Congress attended parties sponsored by Brent Wilkes, the man named as an unindicted conspirator in the case of Rep. Duke Cunningham, who was sentenced to eight years in jail for accepting bribes.

These nebulous parties are said at the very least to have involved "occasional card games with friends" (according to the lawyer for recently resigned CIA #3 "Dusty Foggo," also implicated in the scandal) or at worst, were venues for prostitution and bribes.

Formerly an editor for the Los Angeles Times, Silverstein has previously reported on intelligence, political corruption and ties between oil companies and repressive foreign regimes. Excerpts follow.

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I double-checked with my sources regarding who attended Wilkes’s parties, and all of them repeated what they had said before: over the years, at least six former and current members of Congress were said to have been at events sponsored by Wilkes, and their names have apparently been provided to investigators in the Cunningham case. Also, it wasn't only congressmen who were at the parties; intelligence officials, businessmen, and assorted hangers-on also attended. (As we previously noted, some of the attendees may have simply dropped by for a drink.)

I've been told by several sources that one of the people in attendance at the parties—not a current or former member of Congress—has a long international track record of Bill Clinton–style sexual indiscretions. A person with direct knowledge of the matter told me that this man—let me put this delicately—once, some years ago, while in Europe, kept company with an acquaintance whose work attire resembled Halle Berry’s in the film Catwoman. (Ma’am, if you are out there reading this, please contact ken@harpers.org immediately, as I have many questions. A translator will be provided if needed.)

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